


Come Away With Me

by SydniDawn



Series: Sweet Love [1]
Category: Graceland (TV), NCIS: New Orleans
Genre: F/F, Mention of sexual assault in the form of a case, Mentions of sex while watching a tv show, Pre-Relationship, Prequel of sorts, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 34,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27463036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SydniDawn/pseuds/SydniDawn
Summary: Hannah needed an emergency plus one to her cousin’s wedding, and Tammy was available. What she hadn’t counted on was how it would feel to have five uninterrupted days with the other woman...
Relationships: Tammy Gregorio/Hannah Khoury
Series: Sweet Love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2006539
Comments: 32
Kudos: 80





	1. Chapter 1

“Damn it.”

Hannah was frustrated. She had gotten a call about twenty minutes into the shift, one that had resulted in her pacing a loop in the back corner of the squad room as the team started filtered in.

Pride was downstairs first, moving between the kitchen and his desk, his eyes fixed on his agent. Then Patton and Sebastian were in next, bickering about the best back door while hacking something that was more than likely illegal. 

Tammy came in after, obviously tired of the boys before the day had even begun, making a beeline to the coffee pot without more than a half-assed wave to the rest of the team.

Surprisingly enough, Christopher was in last that morning, his face cheery as ever even as he dragged his tired body to his desk.

By the time she hung up, the room was in full swing, the team finishing off whatever paperwork they needed to get done, and preparing for the possibility of a case. Hannah had had every intention of being productive, tying up the few loose ends she’d left the night before. Instead, her normally perfect curls had become mussed with how often she'd shoved her hands through the strands.

“Everything alright, Khoury?” It was the aggressive way she hung up that had Pride breaking his silence.

Hannah dropped back into her chair with a sigh, “Ryan was supposed to be my plus one at the wedding this weekend, but he just bailed.”

“That's not so bad, is it?” LaSalle jutted his chin out, “Just means you don't have to spend five days with your ex.”

“The only perk, really.” She rested her hands on top of her head, “My cousin is in total bridezilla mode right now; she was very clear that there had to be an exact number of guests in attendance, and I'm really not in the mood to deal with her wrath.”

Patton looked up from his debate with Sebastian, “Is there anyone else you could invite?”

“Are you offering, Patton?” Hannah quirked an eyebrow at him.

“I wish I could,” Patton shrugged, “Doc and I have plans this weekend.”

Sometimes, as the only two members of the team who weren't field agents, Loretta and Patton just need a weekend of relaxation and bliss away from work, before going back to non-stop worrying over the rest of the family.

“Damn.” Hannah turned to the man beside him, “Sebastian?”

Sebastian shook his head, “Marathon DnD campaign.”

Chris let out a guffaw, “Bet those are three words Gregorio hates more than anything.”

“Definitely.” A small smile played on his lips, “She still makes us snacks though.”

The team chuckle, shaking their heads at the mental image of Tammy trying to corral a group of over-caffeinated nerds running on no sleep into maintaining even the most basic schedule.

“What about you, Chris?”

He shook his head at her, “I have four dates.”

It was at that moment that Tammy walked out of the kitchen, her yellow mug of coffee in one hand, and her phone in the other. “Tryna hedge your bets, huh?”

He pulled a face at her.

“What've you got going this weekend?” Chris lifted his chin in her direction.

Tammy shrugged, “Bottle of wine, and a bubble bath.”

While the nerd brigade invades her living space, Tammy planned to pamper herself to the fullest; maybe even set her laptop up on the toilet seat nearby, and work through some of her Netflix list.

“Any chance you want to postpone that in favour of saving my ass?” Hannah shot Tammy her biggest, most innocent smile.

“Well, if your ass is on the line.” Tammy put her mug down on her desk, then dropped into her chair before focusing on her friend, “What's up?”

“My cousin's wedding.”

Tammy’s brow knit in thought, “The ostentatious one in Texas?”

“Lookit you talking all fancy saying ‘ostentatious’,” LaSalle teased.

“Fancy to you, maybe, Mr. ‘Seven Word, Backwater Vocabulary’”

Chris barked out a laugh, holding his hands up in surrender to her quick jab.

Hannah didn’t let the banter deter her, “That's the one. Ryan has a work thing, and I need a plus one.”

“And I'm your last choice?” Tammy couldn’t help but smirk.

The older woman was quick to correct her, “Saved the best for last. Plus, you’re the prettiest choice.”

“Hey!”

“I resent that!”

“We're quite pretty, too.” Pride emphasized the point by popping his shirt collar.

Hannah chuckled, “Yes, but none of you fill out a bra and jeans quite in the same way she does.”

“I didn't know you were looking,” Tammy took a sip of her coffee to keep the grin from showing on her face.

Hannah rolled her eyes good-humouredly.

“That's fair.” Chris still couldn’t help but beam proudly, “I do look mighty fine in a dress, though.”

“Oh yes. Loretta showed us  _ those _ pictures before.” Tammy glanced over at Pride, “Would you be okay with losing two agents for a long weekend?”

Somehow Pride had expected this outcome, even before Ryan had cancelled.

There’s a soft smile on Pride’s face as he answers, “I think we'll manage.”

Hannah didn't want to get her hopes up. It was incredibly last minute, and while hangouts after work had become common, five days of just her and Tammy alone together was something else entirely.

But Tammy was a profiler; even if hope wasn't verbally expressed, she could read it on Hannah's face.

“What time are you picking me up tomorrow?” Tammy chewed on the inside of her cheek.

“0600.”

“ _ Vaffanculo _ .” The profiler groaned, dropping her forehead onto her desk with a thud.

The boys and Hannah chuckled at the quick burst of Italian. Everyone knew Tammy was not a fan of mornings, and certainly not early ones.

Hannah’s eyes were twinkling with amusement, “What was that?”

Tammy sighed, angling her head so she could glare at Hannah with one eye.

“I said ‘you owe me’. I don't get up before the sun for just anyone.”

Sebastian had a sneaky suspicion "you owe me" wasn't exactly what she had said, but he kept that thought to himself.

Patton couldn’t help but join in on teasing the grouchy New Yorker, “Not even your own mom?”

That got Tammy to sit up, her eyes narrowed in the way they usually did before a rant.

“Especially not for my mother, are you kidding?!” She had her arms open, palms up in disbelief, “She gave birth to me, she should know better!”

Sebastian looked at Hannah, while pointing to Tammy, “Enjoy that. She'll be fifty times worse tomorrow.”

“Just for that, I'm turning your alarm on too.”

They both knew he would do it himself. They always woke up when the other was leaving for a trip. Usually it was him leaving, for a convention, or to see his mom, and despite the time, Tammy was always there, ready with a thermos of coffee, a snack for the road, and a kiss on the cheek, before she shuffled off, and flopped back to sleep on the couch for another few hours. It didn't take a profiler to know Sebastian would be ready and eager to deliver the same treatment to her, even if it meant dipping into the snacks Tammy had made for his group.

“Thank you, Tammy.” Hannah’s voice dipped with sincerity.

Tammy nodded once at her, “Anytime.”

Hannah rounded the corner to her desk, sitting down feeling much lighter than she had earlier.

It was then that a thought occurred to her.

“Oh. You're going to need at  _ least _ three dresses. My cousin has a few fancy dinners planned.”

Tammy let out a pained groan, her head falling back onto her desk again.

LaSalle couldn’t keep the grin off his face if he’d tried, “Khoury, you HAVE to take pictures.”

Tammy's hand wrapped around her mug, and they could all just tell she was contemplating chucking it at his head. Lucky for Chris -he knew if she decided to throw it, he'd be screwed. She was a sharpshooter after all- she seemed to shift her focus back to her coffee, as she sat up, and took a long drink instead.

* * *

“Thank GOD you’re here!”

Sebastian met the Khoury women outside the door, wincing as Tammy shouted after him. 

Early morning shouting had become a regular occurrence for him ever since Tammy moved in. There was always something, whether it be a news report, or a misplaced item that started what she called a “rant”. For about a month, Sebastian had vehemently claimed her “rants” and her out and out shouting sounded the same; very loud, and VERY Brooklyn words hitting him like a truck. But then he started to notice a difference. 

Tammy was, if you looked hard enough, really easy to understand, which is why they were best friends. There was overwhelming loyalty, there was never any bullshit, and she had a kindness that shone through when it was needed. When Tammy was angry, there was so much more to it. There was tension in her muscles, an intensity in her eyes, and a dangerous dip in her voice. Her early morning crabbiness -any time of day crabbiness, if he was honest- came in the form of rants that were always more pouty, her eyes just a bit more squinted, and her voice raised in more of a whine.

Unfortunately for Sebastian, her shouting was all anger, her slipper nailing him in the back of the head before he could make it outside to safety.

Naomi’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Do I want to know?” Hannah didn’t bother to hide her amusement.

Sebastian sighed deeply, “One of my friends showed up early this morning-“

Naomi cut him off, “Earlier than NOW?”

Mother and daughter were cautious as they walked up the steps, Hannah ducking to pick up the slipper before stepping just to the side of the open door. When she heard another shout from Tammy -this time in Italian-, Hannah quietly pulled Naomi right behind her, keeping an eye out for any other flying articles of clothing.

The forensic tech inched away from the doorway, “Tammy had one of her dresses hanging over the chair -she was going to ask if she could put it in your dress bag, since she only has one- and apparently Hugo spilled beer on it.”

“Oh no.” Hannah had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing.

Sebastian nodded solemnly, “She only found out when she came down this morning.”

“Is it safe to go in there?” She was only half-kidding; she knew Tammy would never intentionally do anything to hurt her or her daughter, “Naomi wanted to run to the bathroom.”

Naomi poked her head out from behind her mom to look at him hopefully.

Sebastian opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off.

“SEBAAAASTIAN!”

“Oh God.” Sebastian gulped.

“GET YOUR SCRAWNY ASS IN HERE  _ NOW _ !”

That struck Hannah as hilarious, and the forensic agent gaped as laughter bubbled up past her lips. He may be one of Tammy’s best friends, but Hannah didn’t seem to find Tammy terrifying. He could only imagine that level of bravery came with being a former spy.

Much to his dismay, Hannah grabbed him with one hand, and Naomi with the other, and walked them both inside. They side-stepped a solid black box with a plastic handle that was hanging out in the hall, as well as Tammy’s usual black boots that were placed beside it. Hannah quietly thought Sebastian was lucky she didn’t throw one of those at his head.

“Put any and all projectiles down, Gregorio.” Hannah called out to her friend, “Naomi and I are walking in with Sebastian.”

They made it down the hallway, and saw a surprisingly fit man sitting on the couch. Hannah could only assume that was Hugo; despite being handsome enough, and built like a quarterback, he was wearing a shirt with a Dalek on it -She only knew what it was because of Ryan- and looked about five minutes from tears. Tammy stood there barefoot, her remaining slipper in her hand, staring down at him with a furious expression.

“Naomi needs to run to the bathroom, if that's okay-?”

“That's fine.” Tammy’s eyes never left the poor horrified nerd in front of her.

Naomi desperately wanted to keep watching the scene in front of her. One of her favourite things about Tammy was her talent for scaring even the biggest, strongest men with just a look. It was a skill that had come in handy at more than one soccer game, when parents or opposing coaches became a bit too aggressive.

But it was early, and they had a long drive ahead of them, so Naomi decided to table her fascination, and dutifully ran off.

“I swear I didn't know, Tammy!” Sebastian seemed just as scared as his friend, peeking in from around the corner.

That only seemed to make things worse. Tammy turned her attention to him, anger burning bright in her eyes. Sebastian made the split second decision to jump and hide behind Hannah.

“And I didn't mean to! Sebastian said I could come over after a work party, and sleep it off…” Hugo’s mouth started going a mile a minute, “Then Sebastian and I got chatting, and pulled out a couple beers, and then-...”

Tammy turned back to him, slipper tight in her grip, “You, shut up!”

His mouth clamped shut.

“I only own the three dresses, Sebastian!”

“There's no way you need-...” Between the furious glare from Tammy, and the subtle nods in confirmation from Sebastian and their friend, Hugo found himself gulping nervously.

Hannah shrugged, watching with rapt attention as the man continued to shrink in on himself, “We're going to a very elegant wedding, and family is expected at all the dinners leading up to it.”

Hugo turned back Tammy, already bracing himself for the impact of her slipper, “I'm so sorry.”

Tammy let out an annoyed groan, holding her non-weapon bearing hand up to keep him from speaking.

“How firm are the dress rules?” The profiler didn’t turn, but she directed her question at Hannah.

“Pretty firm.” Hannah handed the other slipper over to Tammy, ignoring the panic that flashes on both men’s faces, “But I think you could get away with a suit.”

“Your old FBI monkey suits!”

Tammy glared at her roommate, and he pulled Hannah’s shoulders closer, in the hopes of protecting his face from getting maimed. Hannah unbothered at being used as a human shield, giggles bubbling up to the surface as she shared a look with Tammy.

“I know, I know. 'Shut up'.” Sebastian lifted one hand away from Hannah’s shoulder, the palm facing Tammy in surrender.

Tammy took a deep breath, then walked across the room, tossing her slippers in the overnight bag on the floor with more aggression than was strictly necessary.

“I’ll be back in two minutes.”

She had a softer look on her face as she directed her comment to Hannah, only for it to turn hard as she shot one last glare at Hugo before shuffling off to her room.

Hannah, Sebastian, and a still frightened Hugo could hear Tammy and Naomi meet in the hall and share a few words, before the eleven year old’s footsteps seemed to reverse direction, and follow Tammy.

Hannah crossed her arms, as she turned towards Sebastian, “How do you always manage to antagonize her?”

She was kidding, of course, but the forensic agent seemed to have missed her tone in the early hours.

“I didn’t do anything this time!”

Hannah quirked an eyebrow at him, “You gave an inebriated idiot more alcohol, and left him alone the night before your loveable curmudgeon of a roommate was meant to wake up early.”

When she put it like that…

“What do you think my chances of survival are?” Sebastian pulled a face, “You can be honest.”

Hannah almost felt sorry for him.

“Normally, she’d use you for target practice. But I think you might get away with it, just this once.” She pointed over her shoulder at Hugo, “Your friend, however…”

Hugo seemed to find himself again, “In my defence, I didn’t intend to-...”

Tammy’s voice filtered in from the hall, “Did I say you could speak?”

She walked back into the room, making a beeline for her duffle bag, before she turned to the nerdy bodybuilder.

“I want my dress dry cleaned, and hanging neatly in Sebastian's room by the time I get back on Monday.” The New Yorker cocked her head, ponytail swinging with the movement, “Do you get me?”

“But…” Hugo fumbled a bit, “None of the dry cleaners open until after our game starts…”

Hannah was a split second quicker than Sebastian, rushing and wrapping her arms around Tammy before she could go after Hugo. Naomi giggled into the back of Tammy’s suit from the safety of the doorway.

“She’s a trained sniper!” Sebastian’s voice rose in distress.

"Oh my god!" Hugo paled considerably even as the tall, slender woman pulled Sebastian’s roommate towards the door, "I’ll get it done!"

Tammy made a quick “I’m watching you” gesture with her free hand, before letting Hannah push her down the hall.

"I’m a dead man." Hugo dropped his head into his hands.

"It'll be fine," Sebastian sounded a lot more assured than he looked, "We’ll work on a game plan to get you back on her good side after they leave."

" _ SEBASTIAN _ !"

"Coming!"

He grabbed a ziplock bag of cookies, and a few Tupperware containers out of the fridge, then poured the newly brewed coffee into Tammy’s travel thermos. He did a quick once-over of his mental checklist, before dashing down the hall after the girls.

By the time he reached the door, Tammy had loaded her duffel bag in the car, and was walking the large box to the backseat.

"Does she have everything?" Sebastian directed the question to Hannah, as she stood near the driver’s side door.

"I didn’t suddenly lose my hearing,  _ Sebastian _ ." The profiler shut the back door, her hand up to point in his direction, "And you triple checked my bag last night, remember?"

"Better safe than sorry," He grumbled.

Hannah only just kept herself from laughing again, "I’m sure she’ll be fine, Sebastian."

Tammy walked over to him, and to his credit, Sebastian didn’t cower in fear. Hannah could only assume he caught the change in her demeanour. 

"We’ll be gone for five days," Tammy's voice softened considerably.

"Right."

"And your friends will be over-?"

"This afternoon to Sunday evening," Sebastian came very close to vibrating with excitement.

"There is three days worth of dinner in the fridge, all you have to do is heat it up. I bought snacks yesterday, and we still have some pop left from last weekend." She poked him lightly in the chest, "Do NOT forget to hydrate and sleep."

"We’re not children, Tee." His protest was weak at best.

"Uh-huh." Tammy's tone showed she was not in the least bit convinced, "I’ll still be calling to make sure everything’s okay. And if, for some reason, you can’t get in contact with us, I left the number for the hotel on the counter."

Sebastian wanted to protest, but he could see the unwavering love and care on her face. He ducked his head as she reached up to cup his cheek.

"I love you, idiot." Tammy tilted his face down, and kissed his forehead.

"Love you too." Sebastian waited until she let go, before handing the food and coffee off to her.

Tammy walked back over to the car, rolling her eyes as Hannah put a dramatic hand over her heart.

"You two are the _cutest_." The older woman mimed wiping a tear.

"Shut up."

If Tammy said something else, it was lost as she ducked into the passenger seat. Hannah tilted her head back, laughing as she opened the door, only to stop as Sebastian called out to her.

"Drive safe!" Sebastian was quick to add, "Take care of her."

Hannah found herself melting. Sebastian and Tammy didn’t make sense on paper, but they really were the most wonderful friends. 

“We'll let you know when we get there.” Hannah didn’t wait for him to respond as she slid into the car.

With a wave from all three women -Naomi’s the most enthusiastic of the bunch- they were off.

* * *

They had been in the car for just under three hours. The first hour and a half was spent with Hannah driving, mindlessly humming along to some smooth jazz while Tammy and Naomi slept. It had been nice; the quiet gave her a chance to think. She was lucky, in so many ways. Lucky to have her daughter, and to have an extra few days with her and their family. She was lucky to be working with NCIS, and building a strong, wonderful connection with the team there. And she was lucky to have Tammy; a woman who was so much more than a good friend and colleague. She always had her back, whether it was out in the field, or in those more quiet moments, when she needed a listening ear.

Even if the wedding itself was a disaster, Hannah knew she would have a great time hanging out with the girls.

“No. Way.” Naomi gaped at her mom’s friend, “I can’t believe you don’t like The Godfather.”

“I never said I didn’t like it, it’s just not my  _ favourite _ .” Tammy sticks her tongue out at Naomi, “I’m not THAT Italian.”

Hannah can’t help but smirk, “What, no Mafia Dons in the Gregorio family?”

“Nah, never a Don. Best we got was a Capo.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped, “I was kidding!”

“There are no CURRENT criminals!” Tammy protested, “Trust me, I check the FBI database. Regularly.”

“How do you still have access to the FBI database?” Hannah tilted her head curiously.

“It’s not important…” Tammy is quick to change the subject, turning her attention back to Naomi, “Baby, could you grab me the brush out of that box?”

Naomi popped the latches without question, finding a brush with a rainbow handle sitting right on top. She giggled, then passed it up to Tammy.

“Okay, I have to know.” Hannah turned her head towards Tammy for a second, “What was with the giant box you chucked in the backseat?”

Tammy pulled her hair elastic out, and started brushing her hair, “It's my makeup kit.”

Naomi looked up in surprise, “You wear makeup?”

Tammy glanced back at the eleven year old, her eyes narrowing as she smirked, “You saying I should start?”

Hannah chuckled at Tammy’s teasing tone.

“No!” There was panic in Naomi’s eyes, “I mean, I've never seen you wear any.”

“It's not my everyday makeup; this is all my professional stuff.” The profiler let the brush fall onto her lap, as she started a side braid.

Naomi wass already opening the box, nosing around to see what was inside.

“Naomi!” Hannah gave her daughter a stern look through the rear view mirror, “Ask Tammy's permission first.”

“Oh.” She looked up at Tammy, guilt written on her face, “Can I look at it?”

“Go ahead, baby.”

She was back in the box in a second, missing the look the women exchanged in amusement.

"What's in it?" Hannah asked.

"I did makeup for undercover ops at FBI." Tammy explained, "So my kit has everything from makeup palettes, to liquid latex…"

Naomi pulled a glass jar out, frowning at it, "Is this blood?"

Tammy pointed over her shoulder, "Fake blood. Eyelash glue, semi-permanent tattoo ink…"

"'Semi-permanent tattoo ink'?" Naomi's searching became a bit more intense.

Tammy turned around in her seat to look at Naomi, "Be careful, baby. It's wrapped, but I think that's the kit with my tattoo machine in it."

Hannah's interjection was more firm, "'Tattoo machine'?"

"You'd be surprised how often I've needed it." The other agent turned to look at Hannah more directly, "Be grateful I left my airbrush at home."

"You are SO cool, Tammy!" There was a dreamy tone to Naomi's voice.

The softest smile played on Tammy's lips.

Hannah bit the inside of her cheek, “Even so, there's no way you'll need all of that.”

“Hopefully not, but I have never once been to a wedding that  _ didn _ ' _ t _ involve a cosmetic emergency at some point.” Tammy inclined her head at the former spy, “Do you want to be on the receiving end of Bridezilla's wrath if that happens?”

Hannah's eyes left the road for a second, staring Tammy down as the younger agent matched her gaze.

“… Well played.”

Tammy smirked, “I didn't pass the bar on only my looks.”

Hannah's head whipped around again, but this time, Tammy's focus was back on her phone. “You passed the bar-?”

Before she could inquire further, Tammy turned around in her seat.

“Times up, little missy! My turn to pick the music.” Tammy shook her phone a bit for emphasis.

“No fair!” Naomi crossed her arms, a pout playing on her lips.

“That's very fair, sweetie.” Hannah was there with the voice of reason, “We all agreed an hour each on rotation, and Tammy let you have an hour and ten minutes.”

Naomi let out the most dramatic groan, before leaning up, and unplugging her phone.

Tammy was quick to grab the cord, only just keeping a straight face as she plugged her phone in, and pressed play.

It was as the first familiar notes floated through, that Naomi's pout turned into the biggest grin.

“You know Hamilton?” She shifted again, looking between her mom and Tammy, “I will give up my next hour if we can listen to the whole thing.”

Hannah nodded, knowing full well that either she herself or Tammy will give up their own hour so Naomi can still have her full time.

“First of all, I'm from New York. I know  _ all _ musicals.” Tammy’s accent seemed to get thicker for a moment, “And second, I've seen it.”

Hannah swerved the car a tiny bit in shock, but righted the car immediately. Tammy's hand shot out, resting on Hannah's, her eyes a mix of concern and amusement. Naomi didn't seem to notice, her focus entirely on the woman in front of her.

“You've SEEN Hamilton?!?” Naomi’s voice rose with every word.

“Tony Ramos and his parents were our next door neighbours. I used to babysit him.” Tammy had the photo albums up on her phone before she even finished her sentence, scrolling through until she found the set she was looking for, “He got my sister and I tickets when it first opened, and we met the whole cast.”

Naomi was enraptured as she looked between Tammy, and the picture of her, Anthony Ramos, and another woman on her phone. It's only as Tammy flipped to a picture of her and who she assumed was her sister with the whole cast that Naomi squealed.

“You know Anthony Ramos.” The girl whispered in reverence.

“I do,” Tammy turned, and winked at Naomi, “And yes, he is that sweet in person.”

“Is he that  _ hot _ in person??”

The look on Hannah's face told Tammy the other woman had never heard her daughter refer to someone as 'hot' before. That sent Tammy into a quick chuckle.

“I mean, he's cute, I guess.” She shrugged, “But he's also like my baby brother.”

Hannah readjusted her hands on the steering wheel, “For me, it was always, what's her name, the one who plays Angelica-?”

“Renée.” Tammy couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at Hannah, “And same. She and Emmy kissed me, and my brain stopped working for about a week.”

Tammy reached back, and flipped to the picture of the kiss in question: Tammy sandwiched with Renée Elise Goldsberry on one side, and Emmy Raver-Lampman on the other, both women leaning down and kissing Tammy's cheeks. Naomi giggled at the mix of elation and embarrassment on Tammy's face.

“Did you have a gay panic, Tammy?”

“Naomi!” The alarm was evident in Hannah’s voice.

“No, it's okay. It's an internet thing.” Tammy placed a reassuring hand on Hannah’s arm, before she smiled back at Naomi, “You bet I did.”

Naomi put the back of her hand to her forehead, feigning a swoon as she fell back in her seat. “Mommy, can we hang out with Tammy EVERY weekend?”

“If she wants to, and if she's not busy, we can ask.” It took everything in Hannah not to let the obvious hope shine through as she spoke.

Thankfully Naomi had hope enough for the both of them on her face, “Will you?” 

“That sounds like fun, baby.”

“Yes!” Naomi pumped her fists in the air, only to accidentally knock them on the roof of the car, “Everyone at school is gonna be SO jealous!”

Hannah glanced at her coworker to find the other woman smirking at her.

“You may know K-pop…” Tammy pointed to herself, a cocky smile on her face, “But I got Broadway.”

They heard Naomi sigh wistfully behind them, “My two favourite things.”

“Besides soccer…” Hannah glanced at Naomi in the rearview mirror, “And Daddy and me.”

“Soccer definitely wins.” Naomi gave her a cheeky look, “But I don't know if you and Daddy beat Broadway and K-pop.”

Tammy guffawed, trying and failing to hide the rest of her laughter behind her hand. 

Hannah responded by glaring at her, “This is your fault.”

“HOW is your daughter's sass MY fault?” Tammy answered mid-laugh.

“A week with me, and she's a perfect angel. An hour in the car with you, and she's picking up your bad habits.”

“Don't get mad at me because you rank LOWER than K-pop and Broadway.”

Hannah turned to sneer at Tammy, without any hint of malice, which caused a fresh round of laughter from the other woman and Naomi.

“I should leave you both at the side of the road.” There was a grumble in her tone.

Tammy tilts her head back, looking a little too smug, “But you  _ won't  _ because then you'd have to deal with your cousin alone.”

Hannah's grumpy look deepened.

Before Hannah could comment again, Naomi spoke up, “What's your favourite musical?”

“Officially? Rent.” Tammy chewed the inside of her cheek, “Unofficially? The new Moulin Rouge. I've had a crush on Karen Olivo for years.”

Plus any musical that has her old roommate's doppelganger was automatically a win in her books.

The answer surprised Hannah more than she expected it to, “Why Rent?”

“It was relatable. I knew a couple people who had AIDS.” More than a couple, but she always tried not to think about it, “And, as you know, the whole lesbian lawyer thing. I'm basically the white Joanne.”

Hannah shook her head in amusement.

“Tammy?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“How did you know you're a lesbian?” Naomi’s brow knit deeply.

Well shit.

Tammy glanced at Hannah really quickly, asking for permission to answer. The former spy nodded in encouragement.

“I told her to ask you that question, rather than me.”

“You're spiteful.” Tammy muttered under her breath.

Hannah winked at her.

“It's a bit of a long answer-?”

“That's okay!” Naomi grinned widely, “We have a loooooong ride.”

Hannah only just barely stifled her laughter, though she could clearly see Tammy glaring at her.

With one last glare at her friend, Tammy turned around in her seat again, giving Naomi her full focus.

“I realized I was attracted to women when I was around your age. The feelings other girls got over boys -the butterflies in their stomach, nervousness, the desire to be around them all the time- was never something I experienced.” Tammy shrugged, “Instead, it was how I felt around girls.”

Tammy was acutely aware that she had both mother and daughter's attention. While Naomi had a youthful curiosity, there was something heavier from Hannah; something that had been floating around them since they went to the lesbian bar together.

Tammy brushed off her thoughts on Hannah, and refocused on Naomi. “But I grew up in a conservative Catholic household; being attracted to someone of the same gender was considered a "sin", so I learned to hide myself away.”

“Or sneak away from your mother.”

Tammy glanced over at the older agent.

“Not just her, but yeah.” The New Yorker sighed, “One day, my eldest brother Tony's best friend started chatting me up. And at first, Ethan was a great smoke screen; I could say I was seeing him, and sneak off with the girl I liked. But my family started to catch on, so I ended up spending more and more time with him.”

Memories flooded over her, comforting, but twisted with the hurt that came from Ethan's betrayal. Tammy turned back around, to face the front again.

“And Ethan; I'd known him forever. And he made me feel safe, and protected the way my brothers did. And then things happened.”

“What kind of things?” 

Naomi’s question was innocent, but Tammy had to take a few deep breaths before she could force the words past her lips.

“The kind of things where a family starts heavily suggesting marriage to a seventeen year old.”

“Oh.” Hannah’s brows knit deeply, “Wait, but you don't…”

“Yeah, the reason for the marriage didn't stick. But I'd already said yes, and my family insisted that I go through with it.” Tammy leaned her head against the window. “I let myself believe I was happy. I let myself think all the warmth I felt for him was romantic.”

“But it wasn't?”

“It felt like it was, at the time. But after we broke up, I joined the FBI, became a profiler, and then I was able to really look at who I am, and how I was feeling.”She glanced back at the girl again, “I realized women were the ones who gave me butterflies, not men.”

“What about you, Mommy?” Naomi noticed the sadness in Tammy’s eyes, so she refocused on her mom, “Who gives you butterflies?”

Tammy could see Hannah's regret for a split second as the questions turned to her. Tammy felt a deep sense of vindication.

“Your dad used to. And a couple men I dated years ago.” Hannah’s eyes met her daughter’s in the rearview mirror, “Long before I had you.”

Naomi grinned at her, “Any girls?”

“A few, yes.”

Naomi gasped, leaning forward to get between their seats, only for Tammy to carefully, but firmly carefully push her back.

“Not safe, baby.”

Naomi nodded, but her excitement didn't let up, “Are you bisexual, Mommy?”

“I don't know, sweetie.” She shook her head gently, “I haven't really thought about it.”

When she was in college, sexuality was never talked about; it was too taboo. There were a few crushes, and drunken college party kisses, but otherwise, she kept to herself. And then she got married to Ryan, and moved around, and worked as a spy. Hannah had been so concentrated on her family and her work that it almost felt like she looked up one day, and she was divorced.

But then there was Tammy, and the way her face crunches adorably when she grins, and the animated way she expresses herself with her whole body. How she can tell Sebastian to shut up one minute, and be wrapping a band-aid around his finger the next. And there was the way she made her feel comfortable at a lesbian bar only to have a pit form deep in her gut as she watched Tammy flirt with a woman.

“Well, you should figure it out. This weekend, preferably.” Naomi nodded more to herself than to her car companions.

Hannah and Tammy shared a suspicious look.

It was Hannah who asked the question, “Why do you say that, sweetie?”

“Because Tammy won't be alone forever!” Naomi gestured at the woman in question, “And Triple-P and Sebby are  _ always _ saying you two are Country Mouse and City Mouse, the gay edition.”

Hannah's brow knit as she heard a sharp intake of breath coming from her friend.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing.” Tammy’s response came a bit too quickly.

The profiler had her phone in her hands immediately, typing as fast as she could, and hitting send.

Naomi shrugged, “It means that Chris, and-...”

The eleven year old's phone chimed loudly, and she trailed off as she checked the notification. Her eyes darted over to Tammy, who shook her head once, very subtly, then back down to her phone again.

“Uhh… You know, like the show from a hundred years ago.” Naomi typed a reply, and sent it back, “The friends who work well together, no matter where they are.”

Hannah vaguely heard the sound of Tammy's phone vibrating beside her.

The former spy wasn't entirely convinced, but they were getting close to their first pitstop. She signaled to make her way across the lanes. “If you say so.”

Silence stretched through the car for an uncomfortably long time. It was only as the first few of Helpless started filtering through the space, that Hannah made a decision to speak up.

Surprisingly enough, whatever had caused the two to stop speaking, they obviously got over, as Naomi started singing along to Eliza Schuyler's part, and Tammy sang and rapped for Angelica and Alexander until the very end of Satisfied. They ended their incredibly adorable, and only occasionally off-key duet with a shared giggle, and a high five.

“Tammy…” Naomi waited until she turned around again, “Next time you talk to Anthony Ramos, will you tell him I’m a  _ huge _ fan?”

“Do you want me to just FaceTime him when we stop to switch drivers?” Tammy shrugged, “That way, you can tell him yourself.”

Naomi let out a gasp that had Hannah glancing up in the rear view mirror in concern.

“ _ Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou- _ ...”

Hannah cut her daughter off, “Tammy, that is too generous. You do NOT have to.”

“Hannah, it's okay.” Tammy dropped her gaze, “I already texted him; he's thrilled.”

Another squeal of delight rang out from the backseat. Hannah and Tammy grinned at Naomi's glee.

“Thank you, for everything.” Hannah kept her voice soft as she spoke to her friend.

Tammy reached across to the steering wheel, taking Hannah's right hand in hers, and squeezed gently. Their eyes met again, heavy, and warm, before Hannah looked back at the road. Hannah shifted her left hand, and let her right hand fall to her lap, readjusting until her fingers were interlaced with Tammy's.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hannah and Tammy arrive at the hotel

“I have never been more grateful to see someone in my life.”

They had barely put the car into park when a man made himself known, tapping his foot impatiently as he stood next to a luggage cart. He was a tall, Black man, with a bald head, and the most immaculately groomed beard Tammy had ever seen. Despite the serious look on his face, he had a welcoming air about him, and Tammy found herself more relaxed than she thought she’d be.

“Uncle Bobby!” Naomi was out of the car like a shot, jumping into his strong waiting arm, and pressing a big kiss to his cheek.

“It's great to see you, Bobby.” Hannah walked over, wrapping her arms around him and her daughter.

He was one of the people Hannah was most excited to see, if she were being honest. Her cousin Golbahar had been with her soon-to-be husband Luke for fifteen years. At first, the families had been worried about merging; always worrying about if it would be possible, or a positive experience blending the two drastically different cultures. But outside of the occasional blip -an extended family member coming out of the woodwork to show their bigoted colours- they had all become one big, wonderful family. Hannah knew without a doubt, everyone was as excited about this wedding as the bride and groom themselves.

Bobby opened his mouth to reply, when he noticed Tammy, trying to blend into the background as she hauled their luggage out of the car.

“That’s not Ryan.” His eyes flitted between Hannah and the other woman with interest.

“Mommy and Daddy got divorced.” Naomi huffed.

Bobby leaned back in surprise, his eyes boring into Hannah's, asking a thousand questions at once.

“Goli never mentioned-?”

He put Naomi down, watching carefully as the eleven year old ran off to help Hannah's lady friend.

“I didn't tell her we had filed.” Hannah leaned in closer, and dropped her voice, “It was a lot for Naomi, and the last few times I've spoken to Goli, she hasn't exactly been in a listening mood.”

His eyes scanned over her again. Hannah had been his first friend in Goli’s family. She had seemed intense at first, with her Counterintelligence experience, and overall  _ perfection _ , but soon he found out she had a quick wit, a love for food, and was always there if he needed her.

Bobby reached out, and squeezed her hand. “Well, if you ever need an ear, I'm here for you.”

Hannah didn't respond, instead she pulled him back into a hug.

“There will be more time for pleasantries later.” Bobby tutted, “Without you here, Goli made ME acting Maid of Honour, and you almost drove up on a murder-suicide scene.”

He dragged the luggage cart over to the car, taking a quick glance at the bags, before he grabbed Hannah's suitcase, and placed it on the bottom. Tammy moved quietly, lifting Naomi’s suitcase after Hannah’s was laid in place. They studied each other with interest; Bobby grew up as a gay black man in the US, his risk assessment skills as sharp as could be, while Tammy was backed by her knowledge and experience as a profiler. 

“You?” Hannah frowned at her friend, “What happened to Goli's other friends?”

Tammy grabbed all three dress bags from an eager Naomi, and hung them up, nodding at the man in thanks. That nod seemed to mark the end of their scrutiny.

“They have not been sober one minute since they landed.” Bobby rolled his eyes, “Goli may have invited them, but she doesn't trust them a bit.”

Hannah groaned at the thought of battling a gaggle of drunk, stuck up business women.

“Too bad I didn't bring my rifle.” It was as if Tammy had read her mind.

Hannah snorted, before covering it as she loudly cleared her throat.

Bobby gave Tammy a pointed head tilt. She didn’t seem like the bigoted, gun-toting type; Hannah wouldn’t have brought her if she was. Which meant she was a navy fed like Hannah. To his surprise, Tammy didn't tense, nor did she mirror the gesture. Instead she just quirked an eyebrow at him, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Oh, sorry!” Hannah was grateful when he seemed to snap out of his assessment of her friend, “Bobby, this is Tammy. She's-...”

“Another gay, thank god!” Bobby finally grinned, offering Tammy his hand to shake, “And here I thought I'd be drinking alone.”

Hannah glanced at Naomi in surprise, causing the little girl to giggle. 

“Not gonna lie, same here.”

Despite how open and wonderful Hannah was, Tammy had no yardstick with which to measure what was appropriate in front of Hannah's family. At least meeting Bobby meant Tammy wouldn't have to play it quite so straight over the next few days.

With everything loaded up, Naomi grabbed onto the back of the luggage cart, and started pushing it inside, before any of the adults could try.

Hannah finished her introduction, “Tammy, Bobby is the brother of the groom, and Best Man.”

“Best Man,  _ and _ best ass?” Tammy smirked, “Talk about God giving with both hands.”

Bobby threw his head back with a laugh. “Hannah, I might have to steal this woman from you.”

“Get your own date.” Hannah teased, handing her keys off to the valet, before jogging to catch up to her daughter. 

Bobby stopped in his tracks, his hand shooting out to stop Tammy along with him. She looked up at him, and saw the obvious question on his face, and started to answer before Naomi cut her off.

“I thought you were bringing Uncle Jesse.” The eleven year old stopped pushing the cart in order to look back at the adults. 

The girl didn't seem to question what her mom said, so Bobby schooled his expression.

“He's upstairs, honey. And very excited to see you.”

Bobby rushed to Naomi, lifting her up so her feet are on the edge of the cart, wrapping one hand on either side of her, both of them giggling as they tear off into the hotel lobby.

Hannah watched them go in a mix of amusement and adoration, not moving until she felt Tammy fall into step with her as they meandered into the hotel.

“I like him,” Tammy fought back a grin.

Hannah ducked her head, “He is the reason I hoped you would come this weekend.”

Tammy smirked and nudged the taller woman with her shoulder, “What, you think all us gays know each other?”

“No.” Hannah rolled her eyes good humouredly, “With Naomi hanging out with all the cousins her age, you, Bobby, and Jesse will pretty much guarantee me a perfect weekend.”

“Nice to know I'm useful for something.”

Hannah’s brow crinkled, “You're not just useful, you're important.”

That shadow expression passed over Tammy's face again; something serious, and hesitant pulling a frown on her lips. She parted her lips, but stalled as Bobby called out to them. 

“Hannah!” Bobby walked back over to them, keeping one eye on Naomi as she chatted animatedly with two of her cousins by the elevator, “I got you two all checked in. Room 608.”

He handed Hannah one keycard, but kept his fingers wrapped around the other. Tammy tilted her head at him in interest.

“Naomi wants to get changed into her swimsuit, then hang out with Henry and Aliyah. So I suggested taking them all upstairs, then we can drop your bags off.”

“That’s… generous of you.” Tammy obviously wasn’t buying the devious twinkle in his eyes, and the overly innocent grin on his face.

Bobby shrugged despite his new friend’s suspicion, “That’s just the sort of person I am.”

That’s when it clicked.

Hannah narrowed her eyes, “If  _ you _ put our bags away,  _ I _ will have no excuse but to find Goli.”

The grin on Bobby’s face morphed from innocent, to gloating, as he backed up towards the elevator.

“Tell Bridezilla I’ll be down later.”

“Where is she?” Hannah pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Last I saw her, she was scaring the hell out of the wedding planners in the event room; down the hall to the left.” He smirked, “That was when I ducked out.”

Tammy couldn’t help but laugh, “Chicken shit.”

Bobby pretended to smooth out his eyebrow, all the while giving Tammy the middle finger.

Hannah chose not to comment, instead calling out to the kids, “Naomi, you’re bunking with Aliyah-?”

It was Aliyah who answered, “And Taylor, Aunt Hannah.”

She nodded at the teenager. Hannah had been uneasy about all the kids being relegated into rooms together when her uncle had brought it up. She trusted Naomi implicitly, but the idea of something happening without the parents around was more than a little concerning. But then her uncle had explained that every kid under thirteen was paired with at least one teenager, and the plan was a very strick buddy system. That eased most of her worries.

“Make sure there’s a cellphone between the three of you at all times, okay?”

The elevator dinged, and Henry jumped on his dad’s back, causing Bobby to half stumble, half push the luggage cart into the elevator. The girls nodded at Hannah, then wave, before they duck inside as well.

“So.” Tammy glanced at Hannah with a teasing look, “To the event room, or do we steal the keys back from the valet?”

Hannah groaned deeply, before she dutifully started further into the hotel.

The hotel lobby was a level of immaculate that held a Great Gatsby flair. Perfectly polished, with high ceilings, the light let in by the giant windows reflected off the long line of crystal chandeliers, making the whole lobby sparkle.

Thankfully, the hotel had arrows pointing towards the room, and so the women slowly made their way over, the former spy dragging her heels a bit more than she should have been.

"Date?"

“Hm?” Hannah glanced at Tammy in confusion.

“You referred to me as your date.”

Ah.

“It's shorter than "emergency plus one".” Hannah tilted her head, and grinned at her friend impishly.

“Also comes with a few more questions.”

There was a seriousness on Tammy’s face; the same usual, supportive one, that was always ready to keep her friends grounded, but there was also a long-weary exhaustion hiding just below the surface.

“I really don’t mind the questions.” Hannah shrugged, but kept an eye locked on Tammy, “My family has long since accepted Bobby and Jesse; the older generation might be a bit snippy, but we probably won’t get more than a passing glance from everyone else.”

“It’s not always that simple, baby.” The look was back on Tammy’s face. “Trust me.”

“What do you mean?”

“When it comes to family, it’s one thing to meet someone who is out; either they’re accepting and a relationship can be built, or they’re not, and it can’t.” Tammy stopped near the end of the hall where the path split in two, leaning back against the wall as she thought over her next words. “But sometimes when a family watches someone grown up, have relationships, and get married to someone of another gender, finding out that someone has a same-sex attraction can rock the boat a little bit.”

“So…” Hannah mirrored Tammy’s position, “Do you not want me to refer to you as my date?”

“Oh, you absolutely can. I have every intention of making you look good.” Tammy’s comment drew a chuckle out of Hannah. “But… Prepare for some pushback. Sometimes people have reactions that may surprise you.”

“Is that why you haven’t come out to your mom?” Hannah chose her words carefully.

Tammy sighed, and slowly started back towards their destination.

“No.” She looked down at her feet as she walked, “She and I have been through a lot; the whole family has.”

Tammy glanced over at Hannah, sadness washing over her features, “I’m just not ready to lose my mom yet.”

Tammy trailed off. When they walked a bit further, it was fairly easy to see the entrance to the event hall, but instead of walking over, Hannah took Tammy’s hand, and pulled her into a private corner.

“When -or if- you’re ready to tell your mom, I’m here, okay?”

Something difficult to decipher shadows Tammy’s face for a moment, before she reached up, and cupped Hannah’s cheek. The taller woman found herself leaning into the touch just a bit.

“Come on.” Tammy trailed her fingers down Hannah’s chin, before dropping her hand to grab the other woman’s. “The sooner you get in there, the sooner you can escape Bridezilla.”

Hannah let out a long groan, dragging her feet as Tammy pulled down the rest of the hallway.

* * *

Tammy was sitting in the back of the event room, watching with great amusement as Hannah glared at the bridal party when she got a call from Pride.

“Hey Pride. What's up?”

_ “Just thought I'd check in.” _

Tammy smirked at that. “Miss us that much, huh?”

_ “It IS quiet around here without you.” _

Tammy groaned. That joke had stopped being funny when she was about five.

Thankfully, Pride moved on, _ “Are you three having a good time?” _

“The car ride went smoothly. Naomi abandoned us about fifteen seconds after we arrived.” Tammy shifted in her seat, “And now Hannah is off helping set up.”

_ “Not you?” _ She could hear a laugh in his voice.

“Apparently, I am without the specific skill set needed to help.”

_ “Not experienced in the art of Persian weddings, huh?” _

Tammy grumbled, “I’m not even experienced in the art of Italian weddings, and I’ve helped with more than I’d care to admit.”

The laughter was back on his side of the phone.

_ “At least this’ll give you time to study.” _

“Study for what?” Tammy’s brow knit in confusion. 

_ “I got a call a few minutes ago.” _ Tammy could hear the sound of her boss opening and closing his cabinet.  _ “Sergeant Unger asked for my approval in having you sent to the training base when you get back.” _

“What-?” She sat up, tension seeping into her body, “But I passed my requalification.”

_ “Yeah, you did.” _ There is a hint of pride in his voice,  _ “He wants you to teach a couple weeks of the sniper course.” _

“ **_What?!_ ** _ ” _

Her voice was loud enough that most of the bridal party turned in her direction. She could see Hannah’s worried look from across the room, and vaguely waved her off.

Tammy readjusted her volume, “I’m not an instructor, and I’m sure as shit not military.”

_ “Apparently you broke some sort of course record during your requalification last month.” _

Once a year, Tammy took a few days off, and headed to MCSF for her sniper requalification. She would grumble without fail about studying the new updates to the course, and the impending physical exertion that came with being around Marines, only to return with a cocky grin and extra swagger in her step after killing it on the course.

“I got a perfect score.” She kept her voice even, “That's hardly an impossible feat.”

One of the most endearing things about Tammy was how she could be cocky as all get out one minute, then brush off an important achievement the next. But that was just another way the team was family; they were always ready to support one another.

_ “He also said something about helping a few cadets out.” _

“They asked for a couple pointers.”

_ “Whatever those pointers were, the cadets have been excelling in the course.” _ Pride kept his voice firm, but still warm.

That brought the smile back to Tammy’s lips, “I'm glad. We need more women in the Marines.”

It was nice to see two young women, eager and determined, going through the course as she requalified. The five men in their group had watched, interest piqued, but not enough to ask a woman for help. But the women had been enthusiastic, combining their classroom theory with Tammy's practical experience.

_ “I couldn't agree more.” _ His voice softened slightly,  _ “So, can I tell Unger you'll do it?” _

“Yeah, alright.”

_ “Great.” _ There was an inflection in his voice that made Tammy suspect he’d anticipated her response.  _ “I'll have him email you the required information.” _

“Sounds good.” Tammy barely covered a laugh as she watched Hannah struggle not to shout at the inebriated woman in front of her. “Can't guarantee I'll look at it this weekend, but…”

Pride chuckled to himself,  _ “I'll make that clear.” _

Tammy could hear a couple voices talking behind Pride, parsing them out to be LaSalle’s distinct twang, and Patton’s smooth tone right after.

_ “Chris claims he needs to go to the range with you.” _ Tammy could hear Chris saying something else to Pride through the phone,  _ “Wants to try to reclaim his title of best shot on the team.” _

“He hasn't been the best shot since I joined. If he doesn't learn to accept that, I will have to keep whooping his ass into a stupor.” Pride laughed, but Tammy can't bring herself to. “…. How's he doing?”

_ “He's about as good as can be expected, Gregorio. His first week back has gone smoothly.” _

Chris had been devastated over the loss of his brother, obviously so. The man had thrown himself into his brother's case, right until Cade's body had shown up. Suddenly an eerie calm settled over him. Sebastian thought LaSalle might be compartmentalizing, but Tammy knew it was more than that. And that scared her.

“Good.” She nodded to herself, “I've been worried about him.”

_ “I know. You and Loretta think he's back too soon.” _ Pride was gentle in his reminder,  _ “The resident psychiatrist cleared him for active duty.” _

“Head shrinkers can be wrong,” Tammy grumbled.

_ “That's what Loretta said, give or take a few words.” _ Pride could always count on Tammy's overprotective nature shining through. _ “Which is why he's heading down to see his sister this weekend; get some things squared up.” _

“And he's going alone?” Her tone was laced with concern.

_ “He's a big boy. We're just gonna have to trust Chris to let us know if he needs help.” _

He paused for a second.

_ “And if he doesn't, you have my express permission to kick his ass right back to Alabama.” _

That drew a laugh out of Tammy, “I'm holding you to that.”

The profiler missed what Pride said next as Hannah plunked herself down on the chair beside her, leaning over until her forehead was resting on Tammy's shoulder with a world weary groan.

“Hi-?” Tammy quirked an eyebrow at her.

Pride answered first, his words coming through over the phone, _ “You talking to me-?” _

Hannah sighed deeply, “I've never hated so many people in my life.”

Tammy looked at her in amusement.

_ “Ah.” _ Obviously Pride shared in her amusement,  _ “Say hi to Hannah for us.” _

“Pride and the idiots say hi,” Tammy said it loud enough to get a guffaw from Pride.

Hannah tilted her head up just enough to rest her mouth near the phone, “Hi Dwayne.”

“Okay, I'm back to my wedding date duties.” Tammy switched her phone to her left hand, in order to wrap her right around Hannah's shoulders, “Tell Unger I'll get back to him.”

_ “Will do.” _ Tammy could imagine Pride nodding on his end,  _ “Have fun this weekend, Gregorio. And tell Hannah to do the same.” _

“I will. Bye.” Tammy turned her attention to Hannah as soon as she hung up, “Pride said we should have fun. But I take it that might not be happening?”

“Not if I have to spend one more minute with them.” Hannah jabbed a finger in the direction of the rest of the bridal party.

“Do I have permission to kill them?” Tammy’s braid swung a bit as she spoke with her usual emphasis, “I bet Sebastian could walk me through making it look like an accident.”

Hannah took a deep, calming breath, “Charitably, they're probably big business women who don't often get the opportunity to relax and unwind, and they're making the most of it.”

They watched one trip over another one's discarded heels, almost tearing the fabric of the table Hannah had just spent an hour setting. Hannah had Tammy's arm in a death grip in a second.

“ _ Un _ charitably?” It took everything in the profiler to keep the amusement out of her voice.

“I've imagined you sniping them eleven different times already.” Hannah deadpanned.

Tammy snorted.

“Where'd you set me up?”

“Right here. I figured they're drunk, you could have your rifle out, and fire on them before they even think to run.” Hannah glanced up at a now cackling Tammy, “You can make that shot, right?”

“Easy.” Tammy had a cocky grin playing on her lips, “We're what, just under a thousand yards away?”

“And your longest shot was…” Hannah’s brow knit in thought, “1,300?”

“Oof, baby. You just lowballed me.” Tammy side-eyed her with the slightest hint of offense, “My best was 2,100.”

“ _ Yards?! _ ”

Her reply was sarcastic, “No, inches.”

Hannah shook her head, “No way.”

Tammy had her phone out again, this time dialing a number she knew very well, and putting it on speaker before Hannah could doubt her again.

“ _ This is SSA Raymond-... _ ”

Tammy cut him off, “Isler, it's me. What was my best shot?”

“ _ Hello, Gregorio. _ ” Isler’s tone was as pointed as ever, “ _ It's so nice hearing from you. How have you been? _ ”

Tammy groaned internally, “Fine, and yourself?”

“ _ I've been quite well, despite my recent misadventures. _ ” He paused, and Tammy huffed, “ _ Now what has you calling me? _ ”

“What was my best shot?” The Brooklyn native managed to put emphasis into every word.

Thankfully, with the pleasantries out of the way, Isler answered without missing a beat, “ _ It was actually three consecutive kills 2,163 yards across the Arizona-Utah border. Human trafficking case, wasn't it? _ ”

Hannah whistled, looking very impressed with her friend.

“Yes, it was.” Tammy rushed the rest of her statement, “That's all I needed, thanks! Bye!”

She hung up before he could drag her into a longer discussion. Tammy knew him well; one question about past cases could lead to a two hour long discussion about the FBI manual, if she wasn't careful. Sometimes, she'd humour him, let him go on and on, while she cooked, or did laundry, and had a distraction to tune him out. But not for one question, and not while Hannah was sitting beside her.

“Shit.” Hannah’s tone had Tammy turning back towards her, “Next time I'm running an Ops team, I'm taking you with me.”

Tammy grinned, “Sounds good.”

“Can I ask about the exclamation earlier?”

Her question was met with confusion.

Hannah cleared her throat, before doing her best imitation of Tammy's accent, " _ Whaaaaaat _ ?"

“First of all, that was closer to Flushing than Brooklyn, and second of all, rude.” Tammy would never admit it, but Hannah’s imitation was pretty good.

Hannah nudged her, and Tammy sighed.

“The Marine Corps Sergeant asked Pride to ask me to teach a week or two of the sniper course.”

“That's  _ incredible _ , Tammy!” Hannah sat up, turning in her seat to pull Tammy in for a quick hug.” ”And you're not even military.”

“Which is probably why I'm sure I’ll be teaching the sniper phase, not the scout phase,” Tammy joked. 

“You're really NOT a fan of physical exertion, are you?” Hannah couldn't hide the teasing tone in her voice.

“Outside of the bedroom, not even a little. As a lawyer? I had to sit, stand, walk. FBI? Some running out in the field, but I was a profiler and a sniper. All I needed was a chair indoors, or my scope and a place to perch.” Tammy crossed her arms in frustration, “I was at NCIS ten minutes, and I reached my damn running quota for the year.”

Hannah found herself doubled over with laughter.

Tammy shook her head as she grumbled, “Homophobia.”

That one word sobered Hannah a bit, as she looked at her friend curiously. There was no malice in tone; if anything, she sounded entertained.

“Has someone said something-?”

Tammy placed a hand on her arm to stop the thought.

“Another internet thing. If something inconveniences you personally, it's jokingly called a hate crime.” Tammy winked at her, “For me, it's homophobia. For you, it might be racism or misogyny.”

“Biphobia?” Hannah said the word before she could stop herself. 

The profiler's breath caught in her throat, just for a second, before she relaxed her features.

“If that's how you identify.” Tammy’s voice was a bit  _ too _ smooth, her words too carefully chosen.

Hannah let herself watch her friend for a moment, watch the stiffness in her shoulders, and the rigidity in her back, and catalogued the reaction for later. "Good to know.”

Two things happened in quick succession: a very tall white man, wandered over to them, just as there was a loud crash and a slightly slurred "oops!" That could be heard from across the room.

Hannah shut her eyes tight, pinching the bridge of her nose to keep from screaming.

“That was one of theirs, baby, not yours.” Tammy patted her arm sympathetically.

“They've somehow managed to get more inebriated since I was last down here.”

Hannah's hand shot out, blindly reaching up, dragging the man down until he was bent in half leaning over her.

“Save. Me.”

He kissed Hannah on the forehead, before reaching his hand over, and offering it to Tammy.

“You must be Tammy.” He waited until she shook it, “I'm Jesse.”

Hannah didn't need to look -And frankly, she couldn't, not if she wanted to keep blocking the room out behind tightly shut eyes- to realize Tammy was looking at her in confusion.

“Jesse is Bobby's husband.”

“Ah.” Tammy smiled up at him, “Nice meeting you.”

He had a cute face, round, and kind, with short hair swept neatly to one side. He was also tall, almost comically so, with the body language of someone who had once been a gangly, awkward teenager; his hands clasped tightly behind his back, with his shoulders hunched forward until he was a more acceptable height.

Jesse almost seemed relieved as he returned Tammy’s smile, “Likewise.”

“Is everything okay?” Hannah finally opened her eyes just enough to focus only on him, “I can only deal with maybe three more crises today.”

“Oh, yeah. Everything's fine.” Jesse waved her off, “Bobby's watching the kids, I need a cocktail, and you're the only other person I like who has arrived.”

Hannah leaned closer to Tammy, but didn’t bother to drop her voice to a whisper, “Jesse has a crush on my mom.”

“The woman is more elegant than any of us will ever dream to be, and she is always giving me new ideas for pies.” His protest was weak at best.

Tammy's eyebrow quirked up a bit.

“He's a baker.” The former spy pushed herself up away from Tammy's warm body, “He actually has an incredible pie shop in Baton Rouge.”

Jesse doesn't wait for a response, instead he grabbed each woman by the hand, and gently tugged them up.

“Something we can talk about once I am well on my way to being as drunk as those fools.” He inclined his head in the direction of the bridal party.

“Man after my own heart.” Tammy took a hop step towards the door, only to notice Hannah wasn't following, “You good?”

“Damn. I think I left my phone…” Hannah turned, looking at the front of the room, and saw the offending object less than five feet away from the horrible women.

“I'll get it.” Tammy ran a hand down Hannah's arm, “We don't need you to get arrested for a violent crime.”

“My hero.”

At Hannah’s borderline sarcastic words, Tammy rolled her shoulders back, then sauntered across the room.

“Hey Goli?”

Golbahar felt the hand on her back, before she heard her name. The woman was a bit younger than Tammy, and so much like her cousin on appearance alone. Her face was a bit more round and soft than Hannah’s own sharp, angular features. But other than they, they were of a similar tall height and slender build, and Goli even had the same bob haircut that curled gently at the bottom that perfectly matched Hannah’s.

“Tammy, right?” Goli turned to face the other woman, and smiled respectfully.

“Yeah.” Tammy put on her best, most charming smile, “Jesse and I are being total assholes, and trying to drag your cousin away to get a bite. I hope that's okay-?”

“You know what? Yeah.” Goli looked warily at her so-called friends, “We're probably going to be done here in a few minutes.”

Tammy’s heart went out to her. Last minute wedding prep could be a pain in the ass during the most ideal of circumstances. Drunken bridesmaids that were actively hindering all the work that needed to be done was the dictionary definition of a nightmare. No wonder Goli was so ornery.

“Fair enough. And if you need an extra set of hands at all before the wedding, let me know.” Tammy shrugged a shoulder, “I have many skills.”

“So Hannah keeps telling me.” Her eyes flicked between Tammy, and her cousin as she chatted with Jesse across the room. There was something in the way Hannah had spoken about her friend; a warmth in her tone similar to how she spoke about Naomi, but with something deeper and more serious. “She mentioned a makeup kit of some kind?”

“Yeah…” Tammy bit her lower lip awkwardly, “At the last wedding I went to, I got roped into doing glow-in-the-dark body paint on the bridal party. We turned the lights off, and it actually looked really cool.”

Goli studied her intensely. It was a look she shared with Hannah; that curious intrigue, that made Tammy feel scrutinized, yet understood.

“That sounds lovely.” Goli lifted her chin just a bit, “I'd love to see pictures tomorrow at breakfast, if you have any.”

Tammy didn't let the surprise show on her face at the direct invitation to family breakfast. She’d expected to do her own thing; sleep in, maybe go for a swim, and just be out of the way until Hannah needed her. Goli’s invitation was so much more hands on, and personal. 

Tammy just hoped Hannah wouldn’t mind.

“Sounds good.”

With one last quick smile, Tammy shuffled off to the table, and Hannah's phone.

She was wrapping her hand around the device when Tammy heard pieces of a conversation with three of the bridesmaids.

“Who the hell is  _ she _ ?” The tall blonde, who had a pinched face and a Queen Bee air spoke first, and Tammy congratulated herself on having aptly referring to her as Regina George.

“Hannah's date.” The Gretchen Wieners bridesmaid, with her desperate grapple for second best decided to chime in. “Apparently she couldn't find a man.”

Tammy's eyes narrowed, but she kept her lips clamped shut. She didn’t need her Brooklyn mouth getting Hannah into trouble.

The Regina George knockoff spoke again, “What happened to her husband?”

“ _ Ex _ -husband.” Gretchen crossed her arms, her lips curling into a self-satisfied grin, “He moved on, I guess.”

“And Hannah brought a  _ woman _ instead…”

“But she's so…” The Karen Smith, obviously the ditziest and potentially the least spiteful finally spoke, her voice well above a whisper. “ _ Gay _ .”

Tammy felt her blood boil. It was one thing for them to live out their petty, high school clique fantasies at their friend’s wedding. But they were walking a slippery slope towards homophobia.

“You know what? I am.” Tammy turned sharply, relishing as the women jump in surprise, “Both Hannah's date, and gay.”

The women jerked back, a mix of surprise at being caught out, and disgust at her acknowledgement coloured their features.

“You know the great thing about bringing a lesbian to a wedding?” Tammy didn’t give them a chance to respond, “You get all the same perks as bringing a man, plus you  _ actually _ get to orgasm.”

The woman just gaped at her. Tammy shot them one last glare, before turning on her heel, and walking off.

“You took forever.” Jesse said as soon as Tammy was within ear shot.

Tammy handed Hannah her phone with one hand, and gently whacked Jesse in the shoulder with the other.

“I got us out of trouble with Goli. Didn't want her hating on  _ all _ of her bridesmaids.” She smirked, “That's gotta be bad luck, or something.”

They made their way to the door. As Hannah stepped back to let both Jesse and Tammy walk out first, she noticed the way the horrible bridesmaids were gaping after them.

“What did you say to make them catch flies?”

Oops.

“Something that might get you into trouble.” Tammy ducked her head sheepishly.

Jesse lit up at that, “Oh,  _ please _ tell us.”

She looked between both of them, and their incredibly eager expressions, and sighed.

“I said… the perk of bringing a lesbian as your date to a wedding is you actually get to orgasm.” Tammy did her best to shrug innocently, “I can only assume they look so shocked because they didn't know people can actually enjoy sex.”

There was a pause, before they both ended up doubled over with laughter. Jesse had to brace himself on a nearby wall.

“Inviting you might be the best decision I’ve made in ages.” Hannah was grinning from ear to ear.

Jesse nodded in agreement, “Bobby is going to want to take you home with us.”

He took one last second to recover, and Hannah slung an arm over Tammy's shoulders, and the three of them walked off, laughing the whole way to the bar.

* * *

“Fuck.”

Their first night ended perfectly. Jesse had regaled them with stories of the various personalities that came by his shop, as both women were bent over with laughter at every long-perfected squeak of delight, or gruffed complaint.

The night only improved from there as Bobby, Naomi and Henry joined them for dinner, before the kids ran off with the cousins again.

The four of them spent the rest of the night drinking and laughing, before heading up to their rooms minutes before midnight.

Hannah and Tammy separated from the men at the doors of their neighbouring rooms, ending the night with promises of breakfast and more fun the next morning. The drive from New Orleans to Las Colinas, as well as their full days pulled yawns from both women as they entered the hotel room.

It took a second for them to take in the room. It maintained the elegant Gatsby style from the rest of the hotel, with a few Texan quirks spattered around the room. Tammy couldn’t help but laugh at the tiny cowboy hat call button in the corner. Their eyes jumped from their bags, which were neatly stacked by the entrance, to the stunning mahogany armoire, desk, and tv on the left of the room, and a balcony at the far end, before their eyes swept right.

To the one king-size bed against the right wall.

Fuck.

“I'm so sorry.” Hannah found herself explaining before she'd really had time to process, “I can only assume this was my aunt's way of forcing a reunion between Ryan and me.”

Tammy waved her off. She kept her exterior looking cool, not even blinking as the realization settled on them simultaneously. Instead, the profiler bit down on the inside of her cheek.

“I've had worse bedmates.” Tammy gestured to the adjoining room, “Is it okay if I use the bathroom first?”

“Of course.” Upon hearing Hannah’s words, Tammy grabbed her duffel bag, and wandered in.

No sooner had she closed the bathroom door did Hannah have her phone out, calling the first person she could think of.

Bobby answered on the first ring, “ _ Hey gorgeous. Didn't we just leave you? _ ”

“Tammy and I are sharing a bed.”

Hannah could hear him speaking to Jesse, but Tammy turned the shower on in the bathroom, so the former spy made her way across the room, grabbing her bag as she went, and dragged it to the armchair in the far corner.

Bobby powered on, “ _ And this is bad because-? _ ”

“We're coworkers, Bobby.” She unzipped her suitcase, and rifled around until she found her pyjamas.

Bobby’s voice was shrill, “ _ What?! _ ”

“ _ I thought you two were a couple. _ ” Jesse’s reply came through on the back of his husband’s.

“If we are, that's news to me,” Hannah could hear their silence loudly through the phone. “Don't start.”

“ _ Then what, exactly, is your relationship? _ ” Bobby kept his voice even.

“We're friends.”

Hannah stripped quickly, putting her phone on speaker with one hand, while she got herself ready for bed. She brought her silk pjs, but rather than her usual long pair; Hannah had opted for her pale pink set, with a camisole top, and shorts for the bottoms.

" _ You've been referring to her as your date, _ " Bobby said.

"She IS my date." Hannah found herself crossing her arms defensively, "I asked her to come to the wedding with me, and she agreed."

" _ So she’s a  _ good _ friend, then. _ " The way Jesse said those words was a bit pointed.

Bobby didn't waste a second before adding, " _ Do you care about her? _ "

Hannah's breath caught in her chest, "Of course I do. Why would you ask-?"

" _ As just a good friend, or as more than that? _ "

"Why does that matter?"

" _ It matters because you're not straight, Hannah. _ " Jesse's voice was barely above a whisper.

She sighed in defeat. Despite the little part of her stubbornly holding onto her past labels, she couldn't deny her attraction to women.

"I know."

Both men sighed in relief as they heard her admit it.

" _ So. You're not straight, and you are about to have a drop dead gorgeous lesbian with years of experience in your bed for five days. _ " Hannah could practically hear the smirk on Bobby's lips, " _ Enjoy the ride. _ "

" _ Nah, Tammy seems like a switch. Hannah might get ridden too! _ " Jesse was quick to jump in.

Hannah rolled her eyes, "I'm never speaking to either of you again."

" _ That's fine. _ " Bobby had unrestrained mirth in his voice, and it made Hannah nervous, " _ Hearing your moans of ecstasy through the wall will be more than enough. _ "

"Hanging up now-!"

" _ No, wait! _ "

Hannah stalled despite her better judgement, "You have five seconds."

" _ Okay. If you like her, tell her. _ " Bobby huffed, " _ She won't be the one to make the first move. _ "

Hannah frowned, "I've seen her hit on women countless times."

" _ That's different. She loves you, Hannah, whether that's as a friend, or as more than that, the fact still remains. _ " Jesse's voice was soft, " _ And she knows this is new for you. She'll want to make sure you're comfortable. _ "

"She doesn't love me." Hannah shook her head firmly, letting her logic overpower wishful thinking, "Not in the way you're thinking of."

" _ And what about you? _ "

"I’m her boss."

She could hear the boys wince, and Hannah found herself clarifying, "Technically her supervisor."

Bobby seemed to perk up again, " _ Is there someone else who can supervise her? _ "

"Why are you pushing so hard for this?" She crossed her arms, her body tense as she heard the shower turn off.

" _ We aren’t pushing anything. _ " Jesse tried to soothe her, “ _ Just giving you something to think about. _ "

Hannah could hear Tammy talking on the phone in the bathroom, the tone of which led to her assume she was checking up on Sebastian. As long as he didn't burn the house down, Hannah knew it would be a remarkably short conversation.

"You assholes are making me think about my possible feelings for one of my best friends right as I’m about to share a bed with her." She heard Jesse chuckle over the phone, "I hope you both die in your sleep."

" _ That’s okay with us." _ Hannah imagined Bobby's smirk with crystal clarity, " _ Then we can haunt your ass until you make a move on Tammy. _ "

"I hate you both." The bathroom door opened, and Hannah fumbled to pick up her phone again, "I’ve got to go."

" _ Okay, but tomorrow at 7? _ " Jesse rushed out his question.

"I’ll be up. Bye."

She hung up.

Tammy walked out of the bathroom, a new oversized t-shirt on her body, with the same pair of jeans pulled up over her hips. Hannah couldn't help but frown a bit at the sight.

"Please tell me you aren’t planning on sleeping in that chair." Tammy stopped walking as she saw Hannah sitting in the armchair, "The bed’s big enough for us, plus the whole team, including Patton’s chair."

Hannah laughed, and some of the tension left her body.

"I sat down to put my clothes away, that’s all." Hannah pushed herself onto her feet, and stretched, "Do you want the side by the door, or by the window?"

"Window okay?"

Hannah grinned, "I was hoping you’d say that."

They passed each other while heading to their respective sides, and Hannah pulled the sheets back as Tammy dropped her bag onto the floor next to Hannah’s suitcase.

It was only as Tammy sat on the bed still in her jeans that Hannah spoke up. "You’re not changing into your pyjamas?"

Tammy bit her bottom lip, "I'm in them."

"You sleep in jeans?" The disbelief was evident on her face.

"No." Tammy picked at the fray inthe denim, "I sleep in a t-shirt."

"So then why-?"

Tammy continued, " _ Just _ a t-shirt."

Hannah leaned back, more in surprise than anything else. Sebastian always talked about Tammy's home attire; the sweatpants and hoodie, and her ever-present slippers. The older woman had never once considered that might be for her roommate's comfort rather than her own.

Tammy must have misread her reaction, because she sighed in defeat.

"I didn't want you to be uncomfortable." She caught the slightest twitch in Hannah's expression, "I kinda sensed you were feeling some type of way about us sharing a bed."

"That has nothing to do with you." Hannah could see the doubt on Tammy's face, and she tried again, "Seriously. I can't stop thinking about how I narrowly avoided sharing a bed with my ex-husband for five days."

There was a pause, before both women chuckled at the mental image.

"Yeah, that would've sucked."

"It would have. So." Hannah leaned over, and nudged Tammy's shoulder with her own, "Take off your damn jeans, so we can settle in, and get some sleep."

Tammy dutifully stood up, and undid her pants. It was then that she got an idea, turning her back to Hannah as she jokingly rolled her hips in a long-perfected figure eight, and grinded to an unheard beat as she made a show of taking her pants off.

"Oh my god." Hannah laughed, as her eyes followed the sensual movements.

Tammy tossed a wink over her shoulder before pushing the jeans completely off her hips, and letting them fall to the floor. It was only as she bent at the waist to retrieve them that Hannah dragged her eyes away from the enticing ass in front of her.

"Never took you for a lace panties kind of gal."

"Only for you." The sniper teased, as she tossed her pants clear across the room into the armchair without looking.

Hannah shook her head in amusement, "You’re such a dork."

Tammy flopped back onto the bed, leaning over to plug her phone charger into the wall, and setting the device to charge on the nightstand.

Once everything was set, she scooted back until she was lying right next to Hannah, but on top of the covers.

"That's pretty." Hannah pointed to the tattoo on Tammy's hip, noting the word 'Famiglia' scrawled underneath. "It's for your family?"

The tattoo was a gorgeous design of a compass on the outside of her left hip. The points of the compass were simple; the cardinal directions drawn out in longer arrows, one side dark, the other left uncoloured, while the inter cardinal directions were shorter. The circular dial was solid in its inner circle, then blended into an ink blot around the outer edge.

"Yeah, all eight of us."

"Eight?" Hannah's eyebrows jumped to her hairline.

Tammy nodded as she tapped the North and North-East directions, "These are for my mom and dad." She slid her fingers around to the rest of the compass points, "And all of us kids."

"…  _ Eight?!" _

"I'm the second youngest of six kids. But the oldest girl, which makes me emotionally the eldest." Tammy gestured to the West point, the only direction that was coloured in; a rainbow among black and grey ink. "I thought you looked us up before you took over."

"Not well enough, apparently!" The older woman shifted just a bit closer, "Tell me about them."

"Seriously?"

Hannah nodded, "You get to meet most of my family this weekend. It's only fair."

Tammy sighed -ever the dramatic gay-, before reaching over to the nightstand, and unplugging her phone.

She once again found herself flipping through her photo albums until she landed on the designated Family one.

As soon as she opened it, Tammy rolled her eyes.

"She would," Tammy grumbled.

Hannah's eyes searched hers curiously, but didn't comment. Tammy shuffled closer, until they were shoulder to shoulder, and showed off her phone screen.

"Apparently we're going youngest to oldest." Tammy didn't need to turn her head to recognize the questioning look Hannah shot her, "Whenever I see my little sister, she likes to organize my phone…"

Hannah could fill in the blanks. "And she put herself first?"

"Oh yeah." Tammy clicked on a picture of the two of them, "So this is the little shit, Angie. She's a kindergarten teacher."

The picture she landed on was sweet. Tammy was half bent over, eyes shut tight and mouth wide in laughter, as a smaller woman was caught jumping onto her back. Angie looked so much like her older sister, with the same features copied onto a heart-shaped face, with a softer jawline. From the looks of the pose, Angie was a few inches shorter than Tammy, and a bit thinner, as well. But otherwise, they seemed like a perfect, goofy, loving pair.

"You two are adorable." Hannah looked between her friend and her phone, "Are you close?"

"You repeat this story, and I'll never speak to you again." Tammy waited until Hannah nodded. "First time I ever saw Angie after she was born, I took one look at her, and went, 'She's mine. That's my baby.'"

"Awww!"

Tammy rolled her eyes. "Everyone laughed about that at the time, because I was five, ya know? It was super cute. But I totally wasn't kidding. I helped bathe her, and change her, I spent all my time with her from day one on."

Hannah smiled at that. Tammy moved onto another picture, this one a few years earlier, with both sisters wrapped up in a tight hug, with Tammy’s cheek pressed to the top of Angie’s head. Hannah could see the protective adoration they held for one another, even in such a simple shot.

"She's a pain in the ass, but I love her." There was a warm, if eternally annoyed look on Tammy's face that only a little sibling could conjure.

Hannah looked at her expectantly, "Who's next?"

"My twin brother Vinnie, who's a nurse." 

Tammy sped through the pictures until she found one of the two of them, arms slung around each other, grinning as wide as the day is long.

"You’re a twin?!" Hannah blinked at her incredulously.

Tammy narrowed her eyes, "Why is everyone surprised by this?"

"I didn't know you have a hundred siblings until about three minutes ago." Hannah reached over, wrapping her fingers around Tammy's, and tilting the phone screen back towards her. "Let me be surprised."

"Fair."

Vinnie was just over a head taller than his twin sister, with angular muscles and bones where Tammy had curves. But otherwise, they were a perfect match to one another. Hannah knew without a doubt she could walk by Vinnie on the street, and recognize him as Tammy's brother. They clearly had the same mannerisms, and style, and what felt like the same soul shining through in every shot of them together. 

"He’s just a tall, angular version of you." Hannah was awestruck.

Tammy chuckled, "We get that a lot."

"And you're you similar, personality-wise?"

"Yeah, we are."

Hannah smirked, "Do you have that 'Twin thing'?"

"Can we read each other's minds? No, thank God." Tammy shuddered at the horrifying thought. "But…"

She chewed her bottom lip.

"When we were babies, we would cry for each other; drove our parents crazy."

Hannah tilted her head at her, "What do you mean?"

"If one of us was hungry, or wet, or cranky, the other one would cry until our parents came to check on us. Every time." Tammy pointed to herself. "I got an ear infection, and was church mouse quiet. Vinnie? Screamed his head off for two days. Same thing happened when he cut his head open a couple years later. He sat on the floor, eyes wide, with blood running down his face, and I was out in the backyard wailing like somebody was murdering me."

"Oh my god." Hannah's eyes shone like she'd just solved a year-long puzzle, "No wonder you're so protective."

"Definitely a contributing factor." Tammy flexed the fingers in her right hand, relieving the ever-present tension.

As they flipped to another picture, Hannah can't help but marvel at how similar the twins were, even in pictures. It's not just their looks, although they really could be the same person, but the way they held themselves, and the way their poses and grins perfectly matched one another.

It was went they reached a picture of Tammy and Vinnie, dark sunglasses on, snapbacks turned backwards on their heads, as they talked to someone at what was obviously a backyard barbecue that Hannah spoke again. 

"You must have looked  _ identical _ when you were younger."

Tammy didn't answer, instead she swiped ahead a few pictures. She stopped on one of the twins at around fourteen, standing at the same height, with absolutely identical faces, standing side by side, Tammy looking grumpy in a blue sleeveless dress, her shoulder length hair pushed back behind her ears, and Vinnie all smiles beside her, in a plaid shirt and shorts, his surprisingly long hair thrown up in a ponytail.

Hannah's face lit up.

"You do  _ not _ look happy to be in that dress." There was a rich laughter in Hannah's voice.

That was when a smirk made its way to Tammy's lips.

"That's not me."

Hannah looked at her in shock, before focusing on the picture again. It took her a minute, but her eyes focused on the distinct nose of the twin in the plaid, and she gasped.

"No!"

That made Tammy throw her head back, and laugh.

“Vin lost a bet to our brother Nico, and our Dad made him wear that dress to a family picnic. It was the best day of my life.”

They laughed, and kept flipping through until the next sibling appeared.

“Are you  _ sure _ you wanna keep going? You've got three brothers and two parents left.” Tammy looked hesitant.

Hannah rolled her eyes, and pointedly tapped the phone. “Who is this?”

Tammy smiled at Hannah. She could never truly express how grateful she was to have an unabashedly supportive friend. Outside of her housemates, Tammy never felt comfortable sharing her personal life with anyone at the FBI. It took her ex-girlfriend ages to even hear her mother’s name, and even longer to find out about her family.

“Paolo, our resident carpenter.” Tammy fought back a smile, “We call him Fredo.”

“You do not.”

Tammy nodded without any shame.

Hannah gave Tammy the most affectionate look, “ _ Why _ ?”

“You know Betty White's character from Golden Girls?” Tammy waggled her eyebrows at her friend.

“Yes….” Her big dark brown eyes widened in understanding, “Oh.”

“Yup.”

The former spy rolled her lips back behind her teeth, “So not the smartest Gregorio, then?”

“Kindest, most generous person you'll ever meet -besides Pride-...” Tammy shook her head, “But dumb as a post.”

Hannah laughed at that.

“It's wild because his wife is like a member of MENSA, and she is so patient with him. And they work somehow?” Tammy shrugged, “Thankfully, all four of their kids take after Cierra.”

Hannah was the one who took initiative, sliding through the pictures, until she saw another brother. The pictures of him standing with a young girl hanging off each of his flexed arms. He looked the least like Tammy; big and heavier set, without the gorgeous Gregorio hair, but with Tammy’s exact nose.

“This is Nico. He was a pro football player, but then he gave it up to be a stay-at-home dad to his girls.” Tammy looked more than happy to flip through the countless pictures of her nieces and nephews that followed Nico’s first picture, “He is very much a gentle giant.”

“Aw, I love that.”

“We're not as close as we could be -he has Tony and Fredo, and I have Vinnie and Angie- but he's such a rock. I know he'll be there for me, no matter what.” Tammy nodded definitively.

Hannah leaned back against the headboard, inclining her head towards Tammy. “That sounds like a good brother to have.”

“Without a doubt.”

That was the thing; Tammy had countless good brothers, in the same and vastly different ways. Gregorio women were strong, and loud, and protective, and the men were kind, and respectful, and supportive to everyone they loved. But good brothers could occasionally have friction with their loving, but closed off sister.

Tammy let Hannah move through the photo album, until she landed on the last Gregorio child. It was a family portrait, this time of a man with short grey hair, and darker skin than the other Gregorios, his gorgeous wife -Chinese-American, Hannah would bet- and their four children. As Tammy flipped through, Hannah noticed Tammy was in pictures with his wife and children, but never with him.

“The eldest kid is Tony.” Tammy’s face hardened, “He owns a restaurant.”

The seriousness on her face made Hannah frown. “Do you two not get along?”

“We do. It's just…” Tammy dropped her gaze, “He's the one who was best friends with McKinley back in the day. We didn't talk for a few years after I got married.”

Tammy couldn’t ever remember seeing him so mad. And while most of his anger was directed at Ethan, there was a dark bitterness that led him to cutting all ties with her as well.

“I'm sorry.” And she was. Hannah could clearly see how much Tony’s past actions still weighed on Tammy.

But Tammy shrugged it off.

“His wasn't the worst reaction.”

That made Hannah frown deeply.

“Whose was?”

Tammy sighed, flipping ahead again until she stopped on an old picture of a man and a woman Hannah didn't recognize on their wedding day. Hannah could easily make an educated guess; the woman was the perfect combination of Tammy and Angie, her face framed by long straight dark hair, with big seventies veil, and even bigger dress. And the man was in a white tux with black lapels, a ruffled shirt, and the best handlebar moustache and chin length curls Hannah had seen in years.

“My mom Valentina, and my dad Matteo.”

“That was your dad?” The former spy grinned, “He was so handsome!”

Tammy smiled softly, “He was cute, right?”

Hannah nodded, “One of the only men who can rock a handlebar mustache.”

Hannah took control of the phone again, moving past the pictures of Valentina -as much as she wanted to look at them, the way Tammy’s body tensed told her it was not the right time-, and settled on a sweet photo of Tammy and her father, Matteo’s arms wrapped around her middle as he lifted her up, causing both father and daughter to laugh. Hannah could see very clearly how similar they were, and how Tammy was obviously a bright light in his life.

“Say those exact words to my mother, I dare you.” Tammy shivered a bit, finally deciding to slide under the covers.

“She wasn't a fan?”

“She used to say it was a wonder she gave him children, looking like that.” A smirk played on her lips, “She likes to front.”

“Oh my god, a Gregorio woman who puts on a front. I can't imagine that.” Hannah couldn’t keep the sarcastic tone out of her voice if she’d tried. 

“Shut up.”

Hannah chuckled, before she got serious.

“You said they had the worst reactions.” Her voice was gentle, “What happened?”

Tammy turned her body slightly, putting a bit of physical distance between herself and Hannah.

“I told you that Ethan was my beard, right? He covered for me when I was sneaking out to meet girls, although he never really knew  _ why _ he was covering for me.” Tammy watched as Hannah nodded, “When my mom started to get suspicious, he suggested we actually go out on a date. We had fun; we went to Coney Island, and acted like tourists for the day. We ended up back at his place, and had sex.”

Tammy swallowed thickly.

“I found out I was pregnant a month and a half later.”

Hannah ran her hand up and down Tammy's arm. Her desire to support her best friend overcame her fiercely; Hannah had half a mind to just stop the rest of the conversation, and hold Tammy until she fell asleep. 

But it seemed like this was something Tammy needed to get off her chest, and if Hannah was lucky enough to be the person she confided in, she was more than ready to sit and listen.

“My parents hit the roof when we told them, but in different ways, you know? Dad wanted to rip Ethan's head off, and Tony was right there with him, and Ma just announced that we would be getting married, and fast. She just started obsessing over it.”

Tammy’s eyes turned downcast.

“I don't know, maybe it was my age, or the stress, but I…” She picked at the corner of her phone, “I lost the baby three weeks later. And I told everyone at the same time, during family dinner.”

“Ethan too?”

Tammy nodded stiffly, “Tony was relieved, and Dad, despite usually being a giant goof, just flat up told Ethan to get out of his house and never come back, since we had no reason to get married.”

Hannah waited patiently as Tammy searched for the right words.

“The thing about my dad was, he knew. We never talked about it, but… He knew I was gay.” Tammy tilted her head back, willing the tears welling up in her eyes not to fall, “And all he ever asked of me was that I was honest with myself, and didn't try to live my life for other people.”

That made sense; Hannah had spent a year admiring Tammy, and how open she was. She was comfortable with herself in so many ways, and was always ready to support others as they grew more comfortable in their own skin.

“But. As my dad was kicking him out, my mom said no. She said we had already agreed to the wedding, the announcements had been sent out, and obviously, I wouldn't have agreed in the first place if I didn't want to marry Ethan.”

She shut her eyes tight, refusing to look at Hannah as a tear slipped down her cheek.

“I remember how suffocating it felt to have everyone looking at me; Tony and Dad wanted an excuse to get Ethan away from the family, and Ma wasn't someone you crossed.” She glanced at Hannah, “It was my chance to come clean; admit that I didn't feel right being with Ethan. But instead, I agreed.”

Hannah pulled Tammy’s phone out of her hand, placing it carefully on the bed, before interlacing her fingers with Tammy’s. This wasn’t the time to pull her closer, rather her hand was there for stability; grounding Tammy in the present as she got lost in her past.

“Dad got up, and left the table.” Tammy shook her head sadly. “Then he and Tony refused to even come to the wedding. I'm pretty sure Ma forged his signature in order to give me legal permission to marry Ethan.”

“Wait.” Hannah’s brow knit, “You needed permission. You were…”

“I was seventeen, and Ethan was twenty-six.”

Hannah frowned again. Once, she’d overheard Sebastian and Patton talking about Tammy’s marriage, and how different Tammy had been before she’d arrested Ethan. Patton had talked about how disturbing he’d found the man, calling him a master manipulator, and overall despicable human being. Sebastian agreed, chiming in with how desperately he’d wanted to get five minutes alone with him before Tammy had hauled him off to jail. Hannah had assumed it was their love and their chivalrous desire to defend their friend’s honour shining through their words. But hearing the glaring age difference between them, while knowing he was a con man? It put their heated tone in a new light.

“Yeah, now, I realize how creepy it was, him going after a teenager when he was almost thirty.” Tammy paused, and licked her lips, “But then, he was just another guy I knew who I loved like a brother. It didn't seem weird, or like an obvious power imbalance.”

“Tell me he’s having a hard time in federal prison.”

Hannah was relieved to see Tammy chuckle.

“My old roommate Dale checks up on him every now and again.” Tammy had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing again. “Apparently he got into a fight, and is currently in traction.”

“Good. I hope he’s in agony.”

Tammy looked Hannah over with that unreadable expression, before she shook herself out of it. She picked her phone up, shot off one last text to Sebastian, before leaning back to the nightstand to plug her phone back in, then switch off the light.

“You don't sleep in pants, but you sleep in your socks?” Hannah pointed to Tammy’s foot, barely peeking out past the covers as she twisted her body to reach for the lamp, “I'm learning so much about you, Gregorio.”

Hannah only just caught Tammy rolling her eyes, before the room was plunged into darkness.

“I don't usually.” Tammy adjusted herself in the spacious bed, until there was about a foot of space between them, “You just seem like you have cold feet.”

“I do have cold feet.” Hannah drove the point home by taking her foot, and pressing it right into Tammy’s bare calf.

The profiler let out a yelp in alarm, sending both women into a fit of giggles.

“Keep your icicle toes away from me, Khoury!” 

“You could warm me up.” Hannah poked her again, only to feel Tammy nudge her back with her socked foot.

“You have half a damn bed of space to warm your feet up.” Tammy reached across the space, and pushed her shoulder, “This will be the last time I travel with you, if you keep abusing me like this.”

Hannah was quick, grabbing onto Tammy’s hand, and holding it tightly in her own. 

“I’m really glad you’re here, Tammy.”

There was a deep affection in Hannah’s voice. It was hard for her, being single again for the first time in over a decade. Having Ryan around meant an instant partner for everything; a date to weddings, a shoulder to cry on at funerals, a buddy on game nights. And it felt like all at once, that was ripped away from her.

Then Tammy had seamlessly stepped in, ready and willing to be there for any one of her wants and needs. Her friend was so much more than a comfort; she was seamlessly filling the space of her other half, and Hannah didn’t quite know what that meant to her.

Tammy stayed silent for a long time; long enough that Hannah assumed she’d fallen asleep. That was until she felt a quick squeeze of the other woman’s hand in hers, and soft words floating into the darkness.

“Nowhere else I’d rather be.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry it took me so long to update. I started doubting myself and my writing a little bit.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! I am so sorry this update took ages. I was dealing with a bunch of terribly life events one right after the other (not to mention the new from tonight, which I cannot even begin to process. I will still be working on this fic, though!)
> 
> I hope one 17k word chapter makes up for it?

At exactly 6am, Hannah had gotten up, and showered. It was a nice moment to herself, washing off the sleep and the drive from the day before while giving her a chance to think on the night she'd shared in bed with her best friend.

Hannah found Tammy to be the perfect bedmate. She stayed on her side, sleeping comfortably on her stomach the whole night. Hannah was the one guilty of moving. Ryan had called her a heat-seeking missile while they were together; she got cold very easily while she slept, searching out the warmth from the body beside her in order to siphon off their excess body heat.

It had been no different with Tammy. While usually, Hannah wouldn’t notice her missile tendencies until the next morning, she found herself rudely awakened as she inhaled a large tendril of thick dark hair.

Tammy woke up just enough at Hannah’s hacking, mumbling a drowsy apology, before blindly tying her hair up into a bun, and dropping right back to sleep again.

It was the subconscious action that made Hannah even more grateful to have Tammy in her life.

After her lazy shower, Hannah had changed into her workout clothes: a pair of black leggings, and red sports bra with a cross-cross back, before laying out her outfit for the day. 

It was only as she ran out of ways to stall, that she returned to the main part of the room, happy to find Tammy sprawled out on the bed, face down, with her head buried under a pillow. The other agent couldn't help but sit back down on her side of the bed, her eyes trailing over her sleeping form.

As long as the other agent was asleep, Hannah could think, and wonder, and even fantasize about their relationship. She had not arrived at NCIS with the intention of finding friends. Sure, she was warm, and had made amicable working acquaintances with little to no effort on her part in the past. But accepting the post in New Orleans was a way of reconnecting with her daughter, and giving her stability and safety that she'd never had in the past.

It was pure luck that the other agents were so warm and welcoming. They rolled with her stepping in, and supported her decisions in the field. They'd even shown her a whole new definition of the word family. 

And then there was Tammy. She had been suspicious of Hannah's presence for all of three seconds, before she took it in stride. Before she'd gone out of her way to make her feel welcomed, and cared for. Tammy had offered her friendship on a silver platter, garnishing the dish by backing her plays, and eventually throwing unconditional love in as dessert. Hannah had written the love off as platonic; they were coworkers after all, and Hannah was Tammy's supervisor. Then one day, Hannah realized her love for Tammy went far beyond her love for everyone else. It was strong, and earth shattering, and left her distracted as they sat across from each other during the day, and waking up with heat rocketing through her body in the dead of night.

"Make the first move." That was what Bobby and Jesse had told her the night before. Hannah had dismissed it based on logic and no small amount of fear. But they also had another four days together, where they weren't Agent Khoury and Agent Gregorio. They were best friends, and dates to a wedding, and apparently bandmates. It wouldn't hurt to do more investigating.

Hannah didn't get a chance to think any further, as her secondary alarm began to blare, causing Tammy to groan awake.

The distressed noise from her friend made Hannah chuckle, “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Tammy shifted until she could peek at Hannah, “Were you watching me sleep?”

“Kind of.” She smiled down at her bedmate, “You’re adorable when you’re cuddling a pillow.”

Tammy laughed, turning her face away from her friend, “Fuck off.”

Hannah reached up, hooking her finger around a curl on Tammy’s bun, and tugged. Tammy groaned pitifully at that.

“Why are you being mean to me?”

“I want your attention, and Sebastian said annoying you is the best way to get it first thing in the morning.” Hannah punctuated her statement with another quick tug on a curl.

Tammy’s voice was gruff, “Sebastian’s gonna die on Monday.”

Hannah laughed at her friend. The sound prompted Tammy to grunt, before she turned back around, going so far as to shove her head back under the pillow once more.

“No, don’t fall back to sleep!”

Hannah grabbed the pillow, wrestling it out of Tammy’s hands with an ease that would not have come if the other woman had been fully awake.

“Get away from me, you villain!” Tammy swatted at her with less enthusiasm than she’d been going for.

There was a small sliver of skin showing where her t-shirt had ridden up, a perfect target for a devious morning person. Hannah reached out, and pinched her bare love handle without a second thought, laughing lightly as the profiler yelped in alarm. 

Hannah didn't get to enjoy her victory, because one second later, Tammy's hand shot out, and flicked her on the forehead with alarming precision.

“Hey!”

“You pinch me, I flick you back.” Tammy’s accent was just a bit heavier than Hannah was used to, and the older woman’s eyes darkened just a bit.

Hannah answered with a poke to Tammy’s hip, with a second one in quick succession, just to drive her point home. Tammy groaned loudly, before turning her head to look at the older woman.

“Okay,  _ what _ ?” She finally acknowledged what her friend was wearing, “Wait. Why are you dressed?”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you.” Hannah grinned down at her, “Bobby, Jesse, Naomi and a couple of the kids want to go to the gym in a few minutes. Do you want to join?”

Tammy looked at her as if she’d grown a second head.

“I do NOT. It’s my vacation.”

Hannah quirked an eyebrow at her, “A vacation you didn’t even know you were coming on until two days ago.”

“Yeah, and now I’m making the absolute most of it.” Tammy shrugged one shoulder, “I'm adaptable like that.” 

Warmth spread over Hannah’s face. Even when she was being a smartass, Tammy Gregorio managed to be adorable. 

“Now, if they have a spa, THAT I will accompany you to.”

“They do, actually.” She decided to be generous, handing the pillow back to the sleepy profiler, “I can try to get us appointments when I’m down there working out?”

Tammy sighed happily, “I love you.”

Hannah’s smile grew.

“Love you too.”

Tammy matched her smile, before turning her face into the bed, reaching back with her hands to re-tighten her bun.

“Thanks for the save, by the way.” Tammy looked up again with a confused expression, so Hannah pointed to her bun, “I think I was dreaming about noodles, and got a bit too enthusiastic with all that long hair in my face.”

Tammy chuckled.

“You’re lucky. My ex-girlfriend Amber woke up with my hair wrapped around her neck. Wouldn’t talk to me for like two weeks because my ‘hair was trying to kill her’.” Tammy wrapped the blanket further around her shoulders, “Said it was a bad omen for our relationship.”

Hannah knew Tammy well enough to know she herself probably thought it was a sign as well. She had witnessed two separate occasions when Tammy crossed herself, once after a suspect knocked Chris into a cemetery vault, and the second time when Sebastian joked about them standing in a haunted building.

“Was it?”

“Oh yeah. About a month later, I busted a team of bank robbers… And Amber was one of them.” Tammy ducked her head, “She got away, but apparently clocked me as a fed. Then to get back in good with this high up kingpin, she had me kidnapped and tortured.”

Yikes.

“And I thought  _ my _ exes were bad.” Hannah’s voice was dripping with too much sarcasm for so early in the morning. 

Tammy chewed the inside of her cheek, “Funnily enough, we got back together once more after that.”

Hannah whipped her head around to stare at her friend.

“You did not!” Her voice rose in disbelief.

“Amber’s not a bad person.” And she really wasn’t. The blonde had saved her life after they got back together that last time despite the risk to herself and her freedom, and it showed her true character more than anything else. “She just makes stupid, dangerous decisions.”

“Where is she now?”

Tammy sighed deeply, “She fell back in with a bad crowd. I had to arrest her about two years before I moved down here.”

“Wow.” Hannah couldn’t quite keep the amusement from forming on her face, “You’re just one tragic backstory after the next.”

Tammy sucked her teeth at the other woman.

“Take your weirdly expensive workout clothes, and get out.”

Hannah's laugh rang through the hotel room. This time, instead of teasing or poking her, the older woman chose to push her friend’s face down into the pillow, before flopping her upper body onto her back. 

It was as Tammy was gasping -whether it was in annoyance, or just for air, Hannah wasn’t sure- and cussing her out that they heard it: a keycard in their hotel room door.

All goofing around ceased; Hannah satright up again, body poised to defend against any assailant that made their way inside. The door was pushed open, slowly and carefully, and Tammy moved her hand to the nightstand, fingers curling around the switchblade she’d stolen out of Sebastian’s REACT gear.

“Morning Mommy!”

Both agents sighed in relief, Tammy taking her hand off the weapon and rolled onto her side just as the eleven year old ran in, and jumped on the bed between them.

“We said seven sharp, Khoury.”

Bobby and Jesse followed her in, Jesse pulling to a stop at the end of the bed while Bobby meandered around to stand beside Tammy’s side of the bed. The other two kids followed, Henry happily getting a piggyback from an older girl, his long dreadlocks piled up on top of his head in a bun.

Hannah chose to ignore the men, instead smiling brightly at the girl, “It’s great seeing you, Taylor.”

Taylor was Aliyah’s older sister. Both girls were in their teens, but while Aliyah was thirteen and very close to Naomi in age and personality, Taylor had just turned eighteen, and was a bit more careful with her emotions. She was one of the oldest cousins, and had the high school senior seriousness about her most of the time. Unlike the older boys, however, she was more than happy to watch over the younger kids.

“You too, Aunt Hannah.” Taylor turned her attention to Tammy, “I’m Taylor.”

“Tammy.” The profiler inclined her head towards Hannah, “I work with your aunt.”

Taylor arched an eyebrow at both women, acknowledging how close they had been before Naomi jumped between them without saying a word. But the adults still caught her reaction, and Bobby covered his laughter with a cough.

“Henry, look!” Jesse used his loud tone as a distraction as he pointed to the agent’s messy bun, “You and Miss Tammy match."

Hannah and Bobby barely held back their laughter as Tammy drowsily sat up, and squinted at the nine year old, before grinning.

“I think I’ve been out beat for ‘Biggest Bun Ever’. I’m impressed.”

Henry hopped down off his cousin’s back, before bowing deeply. Tammy leaned off the bed, reaching into her duffle bag for a hoodie to throw on over her t-shirt. Her family were never ones concerned with indecency; despite their Catholic upbringing, they were raised in a way that emphasized that nudity wasn’t inherently sexual, and so bare skin was never policed. And while Hannah, Bobby, and Jesse didn’t show any concern, she still wanted to make the effort to cover up slightly.

All her efforts were for naught, as Naomi frowned deeply at the sight of her bare leg. “You’re not dressed yet, Tammy.”

“Tammy’s not coming, sweetie.”

Her ponytail swung into her cheek as she turned to her mom, “Why not?”

“You’re all buddy-buddy with Sebastian.” Tammy poked the girl on the nose, “He’s never told you what I’m like in the mornings?”

Naomi answered without thinking, “He told Chris you could be a b-word.”

She slapped her hands over her mouth as a murderous look passed over Tammy’s face. Jesse, Bobby and Taylor dissolved into laughter, while Henry looked around in confusion.

“Okay, now  _ I’m _ going to kill him on Monday.” There was a dangerous storm brewing on Hannah’s face as well.

Naomi was quick to backtrack, “He said he was kidding right after!”

“Too late.” Tammy grumbled, “He’s done for.”

“Don’t kill him! Not until after we meet him.” Bobby waggled his eyebrows, “Let us get the dirt on you, Brooklyn.”

Tammy narrowed her eyes at him. “Why are you here again?”

“Better question: how did you get in the door?” Hannah inclinded her head.

Bobby had an impish grin on his face as he held the keycard he kept from Tammy the day before. It hadn't been intentional; he'd only noticed the extra card as he had gotten ready for bed. Next thing he knew, Hannah was calling in her version of a panic -which sounded like a minor inconvenience to anyone who didn't know her well- and he and Jesse decided they might need to catch them unawares.

Finding Tammy in just a t-shirt while Hannah's eyes kept flitting towards her "good friend's" lips was better than they ever could have hoped for.

Tammy and Hannah shared an indecipherable look, Tammy glancing at Naomi, before back at her friend. Hannah nodded once, wrapping her arms around her daughter’s waist, and waited for Tammy's signal.

Bobby expected some kind of retaliation, and he had prepared for Tammy to go after the card in his hand, but Tammy read him easily. Instead, she grabbed his outstretched right arm with her left, bringing her elbow in and under his, then ducked her head under his arm and held it in place, in time for Hannah to hold Naomi tight, and lift her up to safety. Then before anyone could blink, Tammy reached under and grabbed the back of Bobby’s thigh with her right hand, and rolled him back onto the bed and pinned him down.

Bobby was in such a state of shock that Tammy quietly grabbed her key card out of his hand without any more fuss.

“Nice Jiu jitsu takedown.” Hannah couldn't help but be impressed.

“Thanks.”

“I just got my ass kicked by a pint-sized, half naked lesbian.” Bobby stared up at the ceiling in a daze.

Tammy smirked, as she rolled off of him, “A  _ half asleep _ pint-sized, half naked lesbian.”

Henry giggled at that, while Jesse and Hannah only just kept their own laughter in. 

Bobby took another, slightly terrified breath before he pushed himself off the bed. He looked back at Tammy, and the incredibly pleased smirk on her face, and he wrapped his arms around Hannah’s shoulders, and gently pushed her back onto the bed between him and Tammy. At least if Tammy decided to flip him again, she would have to get through her  _ very good friend _ .

Bobby's shove worked out well for Hannah, as she fell back with her head on Tammy's lap. Naomi ended up falling back onto the bed with her mom, laughing as she landed in a heap next to Tammy's legs. 

“You  _ have _ to teach me that.” Taylor’s eyes were locked on the agent.

“Me too!” Naomi’s sentence broke off into another giggle fit as her mom tickled her stomach.

“I can do that.” Tammy turned back towards Bobby, “Wanna be my attacker again?”

“ _ Hell _ no! Not until I regain feeling in my shoulder.” He rolled his right shoulder back in emphasis.

“Maybe you could grab Curtis?”

Jesse’s comment was met with groans from all three kids.

A frown pulled at Hannah’s features, “What’s wrong with Curtis?”

Suddenly, the kids were talking all at once.

“He’s mean!”

“He’s a jerk!”

“He’s an ass.”

Jesse couldn’t help but blink in surprise, “Wow.”

“Who’s Curtis?” Tammy’s question was mostly directed at Hannah.

“Luke’s college buddy Bryan has a new stepson.” Bobby rolled his eyes, “He’s been acting out ever since the wedding.”

“But not just with Bryan and Cassie; with everybody.” Taylor ground her teeth.

“Which is why we want to go to the gym.” Naomi stood, tugging on her mom’s hand so she would do the same. 

Hannah laughed at her daughter’s antics, but didn’t budge. Her head was comfortably pillowed on Tammy's warm, thick thigh, and a large part of her contemplated staying where she was for the rest of the day.

“Yeah! We need to bulk up, and strategize!” Henry tried to prove his point by flexing his biceps. 

It took every ounce of strength to keep the adults from saying “aww”.

“I dunno if you need any more exercise, Henry; those are some impressive guns.” Tammy waggled her eyebrows at him, “And I would know.”

Henry’s brown knit in a perfect mirror of Jesse’s, “How would you know, Miss Tammy?”

“I’m a sniper.”

Taylor inclined her head at the older woman. “Like… military?”

Tammy shrugged nonchalantly, “I never enlisted, but I have done the military sniper training.”

“She’s going to be teaching that sniper training.” Hannah could feel Tammy’s eyes on her, “And no, I will not be letting that go.”

Taylor watched Tammy carefully for a moment, and all the adults could see the gears turning in her mind. Taylor was many things -gay was definitely among them, but all the adults in the family were waiting until she came out before saying anything- but most importantly, she was competitive. And while Henry, Naomi, and probably Aliyah had plans to fight Curtis' bad behaviour, Taylor was probably planning a way to crush him in a different way.

“Good to know.” There was a surprisingly serious tone in the eighteen year old’s voice.

It was then that Bobby thought back to the rest of the conversation.

“Wait, wait. Military  _ anything _ requires some serious physicality.” He inclined his head as he stared Tammy down. “I thought you didn't work out.”

“I said I don't  _ like _ to.” There was amusement playing across her face, “Very different statement.”

“But I do, so let’s GO!” Naomi started to tug her mom’s hand again until she was sitting upright, “Aunt Goli said breakfast was at 8:15!”

Tammy groaned, dropping her chin to her chest, leaning forward until her shoulder was pressed against Hannah’s.

“ _ Why _ does your family get up so early?!”

Jesse and Bobby stifled their laughter at the woman’s antics, instead using it to corral the kids out of the room again.

Hannah's tone was teasing, “The earlier you get up, the more fun you get to have during the day.” 

Acting without thinking, the older agent leaned over, and brushed a feather-light kiss to the skin where Tammy’s shoulder and neck met.

That was a gesture more intimate than they'd ever shared before. Tammy was handsy, she spoke with her hands, and used physical contact almost subconsciously as another means of expression, while shying away awkwardly if someone else initiated contact. Hannah was the opposite; she was more reserved with herself and her body, but loved to hug and kiss the people she loved most. But a shoulder kiss was out of both their depths.

Both women stiffened, neither ready or willing to look the other in the eye. Hannah vaguely heard Naomi shout at her again, and let her body jump off the bed almost mechanically.

It was then that Tammy responded, her head flying up, and her eyes narrowing at the tall woman in front of her.

“HEY! I have fun!” Her protest wasn’t as strong as she’d hoped.

Whatever spell they’d been under was broken then. Hannah turned back, just long enough to grab the hair elastic out of Tammy’s hair. Tammy made another indignant sound, and Hannah tied her own short curls back off her neck. 

She took one more glance back at the woman. Tammy was sitting on the bed, her bare legs barely covered by the oversized hoodie she threw on, her hair a thick mess of waves cascading down her back and around her shoulders. It might have been the glare on her face, or the early morning light shining on her skin through the windows, but Hannah knew without a doubt that Tammy had never looked more beautiful.

“Luke reserved the middle table in the dining room for us to use, on the off chance you beat us down there.”

The annoyance melted off Tammy’s face immediately. Instead she set an alarm on her phone, and while making direct eye contact with Hannah, flopped back down onto the bed.

Hannah rolled her eyes good humouredly, before she followed the others down to the gym.

* * *

8am came all too soon for Tammy. She had seriously contemplated ignoring her alarm and sleeping in. The thought was squashed soon enough, as the agent's desire to spend as much time with Hannah and her new favourite gays motivated her out of bed. 

Tammy blearily made her way into the hotel dining room, more than a little pleased to find the large reserved table empty, and only a couple other hotel guests milling about. Her ability to socialize was greatly diminished in the morning, and the profiler knew she needed at least one cup of coffee in her system before she was functional. 

At first, Tammy only planned on grabbing coffee, and waiting for Hannah and the others to arrive. But as she fiddled around with her phone, replying to a couple missed texts from the day before, she found herself hitting the call button on one particular contact.

The phone barely made it to the second ring before the other woman picked up.

“ _ Oh. My. God. _ ”

For the most part, she and Sonja had done the federal agent equivalent of switching jobs; Tammy going from being FBI to NCIS, while Sonja left NCIS and moved to Quantico. They’d kept in regular contact over the last few years; Sonja updating her best friend on the new exciting changes within her life and the Bureau, while Tammy kept Sonja apprised of the goings on in New Orleans.

“ _ Is Tammy Gregorio  _ awake _ before noon?! _ ” Tammy could imagine her narrowing her eyes, “ _ Did you pull an all-nighter?” _

“Shut up.” Her voice softened, “How're you doing, Perc?”

“ _ Well, outside of the absolute joy I get from hearing your voice, I just wrapped a case with my team.” _

Team was a bit of an exaggeration. Tammy knew better than anyone, the FBI didn’t mandate assigning teams or partners, just agents working cases that were a healthy mix of the next in line on the docket, and perfectly catered to the agent’s expertise.

Tammy had found it to be about as surprising as it was entertaining to find out that, after one of Isler’s many brushes with the NCIS team, he had started regularly grouping specific agents together. According to him, the risk of developing interpersonal relationships was greatly outweighed by the reward of agents who knew each other’s every move.

Tammy couldn’t help but grin, “Oh yeah?”

“ _ We just seized 150 kilos of heroin, and took down a major supplier.” _

“That's freaking amazing.” Tammy whistled, before her sleepy brain caught up to what Sonja said. “Wait. You seized? I thought you were an analyst.”

“ _ I am, technically.”  _ Sonja’s voice jumped a little with her excitement.  _ “I was the one who tracked the drugs to the Warehouse. But Isler thought I should be in on the raid, so…” _

“You got to do a little field work again?”

“ _ Yeah. And you know what? I've kind of missed it.” _

Tammy laughed at that, “I knew you couldn’t stay riding the bench forever.”

“ _ Yeah, yeah. _ ” Tammy didn’t need to see her to know Sonja Percy was rolling her eyes, “ _ What happened to our ‘no profiling before 9:30’ rule?” _

“It became null and void when you  _ abandoned _ me, and left me to deal with  _ Sebastian _ .” Tammy’s comment was as pointed as ever.

“ _ Oh, come on! You love Wordy and Nerdy.” _

Sonja knew her friend too well; the fact that Tammy was still living with him meant the arrangement worked.

“Yeah, but he managed to annoy me before noon from a different state.” Tammy grumbled, solidifying her mental note to kill him for herself and Hannah when she got home.

“ _ Oh yeah?”  _ There were a couple key taps on the other end of the phone, and Tammy assumed Sonja was typing up her report. “ _ Where did he head off to?” _

Shit.

“Um…” Tammy chewed her bottom lip, “Actually, I’m in Texas.”

“ _ I’m sorry. Tamara Catherine Gregorio, in the Lone Star state? _ ” All keyboard sounds stopped as Sonja’s voice got just a bit louder, “ _ Is this case-related, or have you been kidnapped?” _

“I’m…” She paused, not quite ready to finish her sentence. “I’m at Hannah’s cousin’s wedding.”

“ _ …  _ With _ Hannah?” _ The way Sonja said it, with the pause and the emphasis, spoke volumes. 

“Yep.”

“ _ As her… _ ” Tammy could practically hear her smirking on the other side of the phone, “ _ Date?” _

“As her emergency plus one.”

Mercifully, Tammy could hear a familiar voice behind Sonja.

“Hey, who’s that talking?”

Sonja groaned loudly, recognizing Tammy’s distraction tactic for what it was.

“ _Your son, hang on._ ” Obviously the small woman moved her phone away from her mouth, because her ensuing shout didn’t hurt Tammy’s ears, “ _Hey Tuturro!_ _I’ve got someone on the phone for you!”_

There was a bit of shuffling on the other end, before one of Tammy’s favourite voices of all time filtered through the phone.

“ _ Hello?” _

Tammy’s face softened immediately, “Hey Johnny.”

She knew her friend was beaming on the other end of the phone.

“ _ Hey Mama! What’s shaking? _ ” His particular Long Beach accent warmed her heart, that familiar playfulness that she had come to love within minutes of meeting him.

Just under a month after Sonja started working in DC, the tiny woman had happened to be walking by Johnny’s desk as he was FaceTiming her ex-roommate. The interaction took her by surprise; first upon the discovery of their friendship, and again when she learned Tammy and Johnny had lived together for eight of the ten years Tammy was in the FBI; right up until her move to New Orleans. 

The revelation had been weird for Sonja, at first. She had moved to DC to get a fresh start away from the anxiety and lack of rules that came with everyone and everything in New Orleans. But the world was small, and it would’ve been naive of her to think she wouldn’t run into anyone Tammy knew.

As she witnessed more facets of their closeness over time, -Tammy and Johnny had something that really fell somewhere between the unreserved strength and intimacy best friends, and the unwavering love and support of mother and son- it helped build a strong friendship between Sonja and Johnny in the Bureau, and through him she’d made friends of her own.

“Nothing much. Just chilling in Texas for a long weekend.”

“ _ ‘Save a horse, ride a cowgirl’, huh? _ ” Tammy could imagine the little shit’s devious grin.

“ _ Thank you _ for now getting that song stuck in my barely caffeinated brain.” Tammy’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

He chuckled, and she felt herself smile. The day they’d met, Johnny had taken one look at her, and declared that they were going to be tight. Tammy, of course, had dismissed him; she had been so deep in her spiral after her dad’s death, and after McKinley that throwing herself headlong into each and every case at the FBI had been the only thing keeping her head above water. But he was never one to give empty words. Every day for three months, he would arrive a few minutes early, and make her a cup of coffee along with his green smoothie nastiness. Never said much outside of that, other than offering her a warm smile, and a seconds set of eyes on her investigations. Then one day, he had gotten the call that his mother was in the hospital, and then he took a leave of absence for a month. Tammy hadn’t even thought about her actions, instead hopping a plane, and showing up outside his mom’s door, and spending a long weekend preparing meals that Mercedes and Johnny could heat up without any trouble. Tammy had gone to Long Beach on a whim, and left with another two family members. Even as she grew close to Briggs, and Jakes, and eventually Paige and Mike, Tammy and Johnny had something untouchable. 

“ _ Anytime. _ ” He lowered his voice a bit, “ _ We miss you like crazy, you know that?” _

Whether he meant himself and Sonja, or their old housemates, she wasn’t sure. She still spoke to all of them -far less than her twice daily texts to Johnny, but enough- but the group as a whole? That had been fractured beyond repair. They would always be family; it was hard not to be after living practically on top of each other for six years, but there were still so many unresolved feelings between the others that were left to fester and decay. And Tammy couldn’t allow herself to be drawn into the role of mediator once again. It wasn’t fair to her. 

But still, the five of them held a large part of her heart.

“You know I miss you too, baby.”

“ _ I  _ really _ miss your sauce.” _

That lifted the mood exponentially.

“Shut up.” Tammy threw her head back with a laugh.

“ _ Come up and see me, and do Sauce Night, Mama.”  _ Johnny had just the hind of a whine and a pout in his voice, “ _ You can stay over, and we’ll cuddle and eat ice cream like we used to.” _

Sonja raised her voice enough to be heard, “ _ I’d better be invited!” _

God, Tammy missed them so much. “Give the phone back to Percy, JT. I’ll call you later, okay?”

She could imagine his little buzzed Mexican head nodding vigorously. “ _ I love you.” _

“Love you too, Johnny.”

The phone was handed back to Sonja without any fuss.

“ _ So, you’re ready to talk to me about  _ Hannah _ now?”  _ Less than a second back into their phone call, and Sonja was teasing her.

Tammy huffed, “Not when she’s about three minutes from walking in.”

“ _ Fiiiiine. But you owe me so many details next week.”  _ Tammy knew she wouldn’t forget either, “ _ How is everything else?” _

“The team's good. Chris is back to work.” She rolled her eyes, “I think it's too early, but Pride is deferring to Chris' judgement.”

Sonja’s tone turned sad, “ _ Unsurprising. _ ”

Tammy waited her out, knowing Sonja had so much more to say. She had struggled with her place on the team, and the constant lawbreaking and danger at Pride’s every whim, followed by an aching guilt over disappointing the team when she left. And every one of them ended up hurt, in one way or another. Add to it everything that didn’t happen with Chris… It had been too much.

“ _ I know I should be over feeling guilty by now. So much has happened, and so much time has passed.” _

“There's no rule or law telling you how to feel, baby. The team understands what went down, and the fact that you did what you needed to.” Tammy’s voice became a touch more gentle. “That doesn't mean we don't love you.”

Sonja got quiet again. 

“ _ I wanted to be there when Pride was in the hospital… And after Cade died. _ ” She sighed, “ _ I didn't think I'd be welcome.” _

“You'll always be welcomed back with open arms, Sonja. You can bank on it.”

There was more to talk about; not for them, not about this, but words Sonja had stamped down, and refused to acknowledge for the better part of two years. But it was early, and this wasn't a conversation to be had over the phone.

“What if I come up and visit you?” Tammy suggested, “We can hang out, maybe get a quick Facetime in with the team; hash everything out.”

That way Sonja wouldn't feel so ganged up on. And she wouldn't be able to chicken out.

“ _ You'd do that-?” _

“Excuse me, after all this time, you KNOW I've always got your back.” Tammy rolled her eyes good-humouredly, “Plus, it’ll get Johnny off my back about Sauce Night.”

An older gentleman made his way to the table, and gestured to sit down beside her. He was tall and lithe, with thin rectangular glasses perched on his nose that framed the wisdom etched into his features. He looked to be in his late sixties, his hair long since turned grey, and slicked back, leaving his handsome face clean-shaven. Despite not saying a word, Tammy recognized the very specific open air about him.

Tammy nodded, then turned her attention back to her phone call. “I won't be home til Monday night, but how bout we look at a couple dates on Tuesday, and figure out a weekend that works?”

“ _ That sounds perfect. _ ” Tammy could hear Sonja sigh in relief. “ _ Thanks Tammy.” _

“I love you, Nugget.”

“ _ Love you too, Gregorio.” _

Tammy hung up the phone with a longing sigh.

“Was that your child?” The older man couldn’t help but ask.

“Feels like it sometimes.” She chuckled to herself, before clarifying, “One of my best friends.”

“My mistake.”

Tammy waved him off, turning her attention back to her coffee.

“I was told this table was for those invited by the bride or groom.” There was an insecurity in her nod, but he didn’t comment on it. “Which side are you on?”

“Bride’s, I guess.”

“You don’t know?” That drew a quirked eyebrow out of him.

Tammy lifted a shoulder a bit, “I’m an emergency plus one.”

The man tried his best not to laugh. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Not for me. I get a relaxing weekend away, and I get to help someone I really care about.” Tammy peered at him over the top of her mug. “I mean, have you met the bride? She’s a bit too scary to cross.”

“The bride is my niece.” He opened a chai tea bag, and placed it in his cup, pouring hot water in right after, “And while normally she is lovely, the shift in her personality while preparing for this wedding is exactly why I said it’s unfortunate that you got dragged into this.”

Tammy laughed, and the stranger joined in.

“So who is this villainous person who dragged you down here?”

“I’m here with Hannah.”

The man’s gaze sharpened just a bit. “Khoury?”

Tammy nodded. “We work together.”

“You’re an NCIS agent?” He leaned back, and looked her over carefully.

“Yep.” She offered her hand to shake, “Tammy.”

“Ramin.” He was more than happy to complete the handshake.

Tammy inclined her head to one side, giving him a quick once over with their hands still connected, before she smirked.

“You’re a university professor, aren’t you?”

Both of his eyebrows jumped to his hairline, “How on earth did you know?”

“Paper cuts on your right index finger and thumb from constantly turning textbook pages and using a projector clicker. Attention to detail in both your outfit, as well as your neatly trimmed facial hair. You were here exactly two minutes early, which means you have strong organizational skills. You’re a good listener, and have a natural ability to extrapolate.” Tammy gave him her usual cocky smile, “You are either a professor, or a librarian, and there was a recent study that shows 83% of librarians are women.”

“Excellent deduction.” Ramin smiled at her.

Tammy shrugged, “What is profiling, if not deducing identifying features based on psychological and behavioural characteristics?”

“You’re a profiler?” At Tammy’s nod, he grinned, “I’m a professor of Psychology.”

“Seriously?” She shifted back in her chair, her hand open, palm up in a questioning gesture, “Where do you teach?”

“Princeton. But I’m on loan to LSU.”

“That’s my alma mater.” Suddenly she felt much more awake. “Who are you subbing for?”

“Professor Rhys McCormack.”

“That sonofabitch is still alive?!” Thankfully no one turned at her raised voice, and Tammy managed to adjust her volume. “Sorry. He was about a 100 when I was a student, and was about the most unpleasant man I’ve ever come across. Short of a few serial killers.”

Ramin laughed.

“I’m a little jealous.” He lifted a mug of tea to his lips, “Profiling serial killers must be far more interesting than my work grading papers.”

“I don't know about that.” She chuckled, “My roommate says some of my old cases are macabre… And we deal with dead bodies all the time at work.”

If anything, that seems to make the older man more enthused.

“What was the most interesting pathology you've encountered?” He read her hesitation without even trying. “Come on. If we talk about psychology, I can write this meal off as a breakfast meeting.”

Tammy guffawed. She took a second to think over her ten years at the Bureau. She had seen a lot of things; getting into the minds of killers often led to a very broad definition of the word ‘gruesome’. Most serial killers loved to torture and kill with their own definition of precision, some working with a sort of finesse, while others hacked away with no care to the mess they left behind. And almost every one put the blame on their victims -and more often than not, their mothers- for forcing their hands.

Finally, she had one.

“I was working a case in DC; five women who were taken, held for a couple weeks, then killed and dumped.” Tammy bit her thumb, “Victimology was all over the place. Different ages, ethnicities-...”

“Socioeconomic status?”

“As different as night and day. They worked as secretaries, nutritionists, a journalist. As far as we could tell, they had no connection whatsoever.” She waved her hand through the air. “At the same time, there were eight dead women in New York; all of them petite brunettes who were working as strippers.”

She had piqued his interest. “And they were the same case?”

Tammy nodded.

“Cliffnotes version, or the whole profile?”

“Show your work,  _ Agent _ .” Ramin teased in a way only a professor could.

Tammy shifted so her body is facing him more directly.

“The man we were looking for was living a pretty good life. He was married, had a rugrat or two running around, good paying job... Overall, pretty comfortable in his surroundings.”

Ramin nodded along, “But that didn't mean everything was perfect.”

Tammy shook her head. “Not at all. Despite his contentment, he was still very dissatisfied. My team figured he was married to a woman who made him feel inadequate.”

“In what way?”

Tammy recognized that he knew the answer; he was asking as a way of showing interest in both the case, and how she worked.

“At the time, we surmised she probably worked in a job that was superior to his own. For example: if he was a manager, she was the CEO. But lucky for him, the profile suggested he could get away from all that, so he obviously travelled. And it turned out he split his time between New York, and DC.”

“That is interesting.” He found himself leaning forward in fascination.

“We had tracked the time between the victims getting taken, and their deaths. He took them, and kept them for weeks on end. He sort of…” She searched for the right wording, “Played house with them.”

“Okay, the strippers, that's not hard to figure out. But why the victims in DC?” His eyes narrowed as he mentally went over the facts. “You said the women were different. Why'd he choose them?”

“That was what gave us the problem. We couldn't figure out the stressor.” She didn't answer his question directly. “It wasn't until we realized Marissa Fox, who was  _ thought _ was the first victim, wasn't the first victim at all.”

Ramin frowned. “She wasn't.”

“Nope. Tessa Richards was the first.”

“I can’t believe you remember all of these names.” The amusement was evident in his voice.

“I did a presentation on this case not too long ago.” She waggled her eyebrows. “They’re still fresh.”

They both shared a chuckle.

“Okay, and who was Tessa Richards?” Ramin stroked his chin with his thumb. “Why didn't anyone flag her in the profile?”

“She had a completely different COD.” Tammy clenched her jaw, “Unlike the other women in DC, he beat her only once, and strangled her with a belt. There was no garrotte, and no sexual assault, which is why it didn't ping.”

Ramin whistled, “That sounds like pure rage.”

Tammy's face hardened. “It was. She was six weeks pregnant.”

Ramin shook his head in disgust.

“We figured, with Tessa? She was a long-time mistress who made him very happy. Everything was good with her, until she told him she was pregnant, and he realized she could threaten his perfect balance.”

“Which made her the stressor. What about the rest?”

“The other women were replacements for her. But, unlike his girl, they weren't happy to be around him.” She refilled her coffee cup, and offered him the tea kettle. “He held them in a nice home with a door that locked on the outside, and anti-breaking windows.”

“He liked them comfortably contained.” Ramin nodded at her offer, moving the spoon out of the way so she could pour.

“Exactly. He couldn't keep them chained up, though. He wanted to keep up the mistress fantasy. And of course, he left them not long after he took them.”

There was an understanding in his features. “He had a job, and a life in New York.”

“They spent weeks alone in a house they couldn't get out of, scared out of their minds over what could happen.” Her words were mostly to herself, “It is one of the most terrifying headspaces to be in.”

Ramin was watching her with great interest, and so she worked hard to keep her face neutral.

Tammy cleared her throat. “When he would return, he expected the warm welcome he used to get with his first. Instead, he was met with scared women, who reject him on the spot. They probably even lashed out. And since he was desperate for control, he hit her.”

“It's alarming how many perpetrators of violent crimes have that terrifying desire for control.”

They both let his comment settle around them, before Ramin gestured for Tammy to continue.

“The third and fourth victims didn't fight back, which is why they have minimal bruising over a greater amount of time. But the second and fifth? They were fighters.” She sighed, “No matter what, she displeased him. But she was there as a mistress, and there were other reasons why he kept her around, so he had sex with her.”

He followed her train of thought. “In his mind, it wasn't assault. They are a couple, they had a fight, and if anything, it's make-up sex.”

“Exactly. But she kept fighting back, and harder than before.”

“I'm sure that pissed him off.”

“Without a doubt. No matter what, something set him off, and he ended up wrapping wire around her neck, and killing her.” She took another drink of her coffee, letting wakefulness finally settle in her brain. “Then of course, he had a problem. He got lonely again. So he went out looking for someone to replace her. When he found someone he liked, he would watch her, looking at her habits, and her behaviour to make sure she was right for him. If she was, he went after her.”

“Give me his profile.”

“There is a good chance he is a fairly handsome man. He goes out, seduces these women, both in DC and New York, and gets them to come home with him.” She let her profiler mask slip onto her face. “It starts the fantasy: he asks these women home. If they say no, it's no big thing. If they say yes, he feels as though they are his.”

“Okay, so jumping back to New York.” Ramin adjusted his glasses. “He would take his time with the women in DC, and yet the strippers were quick; he just tossed them aside. Why?”

“The strippers were a stress release.”

“But why strippers? Prostitutes would have been easier prey, wouldn't they?”

“Maybe. But they represented his wife.”

Ramin huffed, “Don't they always.”

They both nodded in agreement.

“His inadequacy and anger were taken out on strippers who took on roles of power, and looked like his wife, because he felt he couldn't exert himself at home.” She spoke evenly. “By choosing strippers over prostitites -and therefore adding to the stereotype that they are a step above other sex workers-, he proved that, despite making him feel inadequate in every single way, he respected his wife. And that, more than anything else, said a lot about him.”

He understood immediately, “He didn't mind being in the situation he was in, as long as he had a way of releasing his pent-up feelings.”

“Exactly. At the end of the day, if Tessa Richards hadn't gotten pregnant, living the double life would've kept him content for years.” Tammy sat back in her chair again.

Ramin looked her over again, obvious pride on his face as if Tammy were his own daughter. “Were all your cases so interesting?”

“Not all of them.” She scrunched up her nose. “A lot of serial killers rely on luck, and negligent or biased police departments.”

Hannah, Naomi, Goli, Bobby, Jesse, Henry, and another woman and man walk over to them, catching the tail end of what Tammy had said.

“You're not seriously talking about cases on your one weekend off in months.” Hannah had truly perfected combining amusement and scolding in her tone.

A bright smile lit up Tammy's face upon hearing Hannah's voice. It was obvious that the gym buddies had gone back up to change after their workout; Hannah had gone so far as to throw on a yellow sundress, and curl her hair beautifully.

Tammy turned in her chair, with a pointed smirk on her face. “I was just getting to know your father.”

Both Hannah and Ramin blinked at her in surprise. The perfectly matched looks only managed to make Tammy laugh.

“The hell kind of profiler would I be if I couldn’t clock the professor was your dad?” She punctuated her statement by quirking an eyebrow at Ramin.

“A bad one?” Henry supplied helpfully.

The profiler turned to wink at him, “Thank you, baby.”

Henry blushed adorably, and hid his face in Jesse’s shirt.

“Also… Hannah has about fifteen pictures of you in her living room.”

Ramin groaned, hanging his head in defeat.

“I do appreciate a good attempt at being inconspicuous.”

Mr. Khoury could not help but laugh at that.

Tammy’s eyes made a sweep around the group, before she frowned a bit. “You lose Taylor?”

Hannah gave her an affectionate look, only to cover it as she and everyone else sat around the table.

“Aliyah  _ finally _ woke up, and convinced their dad to take them to Bob Evans.” Naomi had the smallest hint of envy in her voice.

Hannah leaned over until her head was right aboveTammy’s, “You’d get along great with Aliyah; she also hates everything before noon.”

Hannah dropped a kiss to the crown of Tammy’s head, before she sat down beside the other agent.

“My brother has been singing your praises since yesterday.” A sweet-faced black man leaned as far as he could over the table, and shook Tammy’s hand.

He was younger than Bobby, and just as stunning, with deep dimples on his cheeks that showed with every mouth movement, and not just with smiles. He was dressed casually, in a t-shirt and shorts, and Tammy felt much more at ease in her own loose-fitting tank top and cutoffs.

“Oh right, sorry!” Hannah suddenly remembered Tammy hadn’t met everyone. “This is Luke.”

“Nice to meet you.” Tammy made sure to lock eyes with him, before glancing at Goli, and back, “You’re very lucky.”

Luke’s grin could outshine the sun. He was a man madly in love, and Tammy found herself smiling along with him.

“Don’t I know it!”

Goli turned just enough to peck Luke on the lips, causing a wave of hoots to make their way across the table.

Hannah laughed at the couple’s blush, as she turned to gesture to the other woman. “And this is my mother, Marjan.”

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Gregorio.” Marjan reached out to take Tammy’s hand.

Tammy's jaw dropped as Marjan's voice reached her ears. Her voice was deep, and raspy, with the smoothest, most melodic Iranian accent she’d ever heard.

“Please call me Tammy.” She looked a bit stunned, “Can I just say, you are breathtaking?”

While Hannah had Ramin’s skin tone and physique, Mrs. Khoury had obviously shared every ounce of her beauty with her daughter. Her face was rounder than Hannah’s, and her body curvier, the only signs of her age showing in the laugh lines around her eyes, and the thinning skin on the backs of her hands. Born and raised in Iran, Hannah had once told Tammy her parents had met when Marjan had immigrated to the States in her early twenties. Marjan showed every level of intelligence; Tammy read her to be wise, clever, quick-witted, and astute almost to a fault. Where Ramin was dignified, Marjan was elegant. They complimented each other beautifully, from Ramin’s understated casual clothing, with his wife’s flawless forest green dress that probably cost more than Tammy’s rent.

“And I get your adoration.” Tammy looked at Jesse, before her eyes locked back on Marjan, “I could listen to you read the phone book.”

Marjan laughed in the exact same way as her daughter: turning her face away from Tammy, as her shoulders lifted just a bit. “You are every bit as charming as my daughter said you were,  _ Tammy _ .”

“Your mom thinks I'm charming.” Tammy puffed her chest out proudly, as she grinned at her friend.

Hannah gently shoving Tammy's shoulder, while laughing, “Stop.”

“ _ Listen _ . I'm thirty years away from becoming the Italian Sylvia from The Nanny.” She and Angie had shared that recurring nightmare for over a decade as their mother became more inclined to eat everything in sight, and invade their personal life in the worst of ways. “You, however, have two of the most gorgeous parents on the planet.”

“I really like her.” Ramin grinned.

Hannah rolled her eyes, “Come on. Your mom is gorgeous.”

If the pictures of Mrs. Gregorio she saw last night were anything to go by, Hannah knew without a doubt Tammy would remain to be one of the most breathtaking women on earth for the rest of her life.

“She IS gorgeous, but I'm not wrong!” Tammy gave her a pointed look, “Literally the only person more beautiful than them is  _ you _ , and since you came from them, it still counts.”

Tammy suddenly had the whole table's attention. The profiler recognized their intrigue over the state of her relationship with Hannah. They weren’t used to the women and their closeness bordering on flirtation the way the team was, and Tammy could only imagine how it looked to outside eyes. She considered reigning her feelings and reactions in, until she caught Naomi beaming at her out of the corner of her eye.

“You think I'm beautiful, huh?” Hannah waggled her eyebrows at Tammy.

It was Tammy's turn to roll her eyes.

“I've said that, like, twice a day since I met you.”

“Untrue!” There was a laugh under Hannah’s protest, “You were snippy with me for about an hour.”

And only an hour. There was something about being shot at, and almost blown up within hours that wiped any bitterness clean.

Tammy ran a hand through her hair, “Just because I was vocally snippy, doesn't mean that's what I was thinking.”

Hannah looked her over thoughtfully, a cheeky warmth etched into her features.

“Tabling that for later.”

Tammy winked back at her.

“Are you two always like this?” Goli’s eyed flitted between her cousin and Tammy. “You’re making Luke and I look bad.”

Naomi responded gleefully, “Yes, they are!”

She was unperturbed as everyone looked at her in surprise. She was more than used to her mom and Tammy’s closeness. She even went out of her way to encourage it. If her mom and dad were broken up for good, then Naomi figured a woman like Tammy who made her mom giddy was the perfect future partner.

“Sometimes we work.” Hannah punctuated her statement by poking Naomi in the ribs.

“Is that unusual?” Luke looked between the two women, “Having a relationship while working together?”

“I mean, everyone at NCIS has a close working relationship.” Tammy felt Hannah glance at her, but she made a point of keeping her eyes locked on the man on the far side of the table. “They’re very much my family.”

“There are seven of us.” Hannah explained, “It’s not just that we are close because we have saved each other’s lives so often. We have dinner, we have game nights-”

Tammy cut her off, “Okay, but you  _ really _ can’t keep making Sebastian cry, otherwise Loretta’s going to put you on probation again.”

Hannah bit her lip to keep from laughing.

“You made Sebby cry, Mommy?” 

It was Naomi’s very stern expression that had Hannah wincing a little bit, as she flicked Tammy under the table.

Thankfully, Tammy went in for the save, “Have you ever played a game with her, baby?”

“Yes!” Bobby jumped in to answer instead, “She’s terrifying.” 

“Thank you!” Tammy gestured at Bobby, before turning back to Hannah. “Didn’t I tell you?”

Hannah didn’t bother to hide her laughter anymore. “ _ You _ make him cry all the time!”

“That's different! I’m his roommate, and best friend, and occasional mother.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m allowed.”

“How, exactly, is one an occasional mother?” Goli narrowed her eyes just a bit.

“I feed him, and clothe him, and keep him in line.” There was a devious look that formed on her face, “But when he’s being particularly terrible, I call his real Mom.”

“You are so mean.” Hannah chuckled.

“Sometimes the Fear of Mom is far more effective than even my most violent threats of bodily harm.”

“She's not wrong.”

Everyone looked at Goli with interest. There was obviously a story there.

“I worked a seventeenth birthday bash a couple weeks ago for this  _ arrogant _ rich, white boy, who thought he deserved everything under the sun.”

Bobby shook his head sympathetically, “The worst.”

All of the adults nodded in agreement.

Goli crossed her arms, “When he wasn't making outrageous demands, he was being rude to me, demeaning to his younger brother and friends, and destroying the caterers property and the venue before the party even started.”

“What did you do, Aunt Goli?” Naomi tilted her head to the side.

“I recorded one of his temper tantrums, broke into his phone, and sent it to his mother.” A smile pulled at the corner of her lips. “She drove up, threatened to cancel the whole event within fifteen minutes of the start time, and then dialed a military school on speaker phone for the kid and his friends to hear.”

“ _ Wow _ , that is stone cold!” Tammy sounded impressed.

Marjan nodded in agreement. “Did it work?”

“In a second.” Goli’s face broke out into a full blown grin. “From that point on, he was so well behaved, I was convinced he'd been body snatched.”

The adults laughed, while Naomi and Henry glanced at each other in confusion. Adults were so weird sometimes.

Goli laughed again, “So I get what you mean about the Fear of Mom.”

“You never experienced it yourself, huh?” Jesse couldn’t help but teasing her.

“Are you kidding, Miss Goodie-Two-Shoes?” Bobby had a playful grin on his face, “She doesn't even drink.”

Luke joined in on teasing his fiancée as Goli looked about ready to protest, “I've never heard her swear once.”

Hannah jumped in as well, “She has never even jaywalked.”

Goli rolled her eyes at them, while Tammy glanced between them with affection and amusement. This family knew and loved each other so much, only so much less loudly than her own. Affection that stemmed from softness and simpler teasing rather than sharp words and near-constant fights was a welcomed relief.

“You guys are adorable.” Her comment was directed mostly to Hannah.

“You find merciless teasing adorable?” Goli glared at Tammy, without any malice.

Hannah placed an elbow on the table so she could rest her chin on her hand while turning her teasing to Tammy. “She would, what with five siblings.”

Goli’s eyebrows shot up, “Seriously?”

“You’re never going to let this go, are you?” Tammy grumbled.

Hannah shook her head.

Henry gaped at the agent, “That’s so many!”

“Yes it is, baby.” Tammy only just bit back a laugh at Henry’s wide-eyed expression.

“Let me guess…” Ramin peered at her over the top of his glasses, making a show of studying the woman carefully, “You’re the eldest?”

Tammy grinned. “Second youngest, actually.”

Marjan guffawed as her husband’s jaw dropped. “That’s what you get for being cocky.”

“He’s sort of right.” Tammy gave them a half smile. “I’m the oldest girl, which is the same thing in my family.”

“Ha!”

Marjan rolled her eyes, and Ramin pressed a quick kiss to her lips. The rest of the table watched the couple, marvelling at their sweetness.

Tammy leaned over to whisper to Hannah, “I really like your family.”

Hannah closed the distance, resting her forehead against Tammy’s temple, while wrapping her arm around her shoulders. “I bet I’ll like yours too.”

Tammy chuckled. “You will  _ not _ . You think I’m loud now? Just wait ‘til I revert back to full Brooklyn.”

“Come on.” Hannah nudged her gently, “You know you wouldn’t trade them for the world.”

“Are you kidding?!” Tammy’s voice raised in obvious offence to Hannah’s comment, “I’d trade Tony AND Vinnie for a cannoli.”

The whole table howled with laughter.

“What’s wrong with Tony and Vinnie?” Marjan looked at the younger woman with great interest.

“Tony’s the eldest, and he's also got this cold, almost asinine streak to him.” That was a goddamn understatement. Tony rarely showed any kind of affection to anyone who wasn’t one of his children, and occasionally his wife. “Once the rest of us decided if we had to sacrifice a sibling for some reason, it’d be him.”

“Okay, I  _ have _ to meet your siblings.” Hannah shook her head in amusement.

Naomi jumped in. “Me too!”

Tammy grinned at her favourite girls. She had already promised Naomi a trip to New York; it might be nice to bring both mother and daughter with her to family dinner.

“What about Vinnie?”

“He’s my twin; seven minutes older than me. And those seven minutes when he was out, and I was still in?” Tammy brushed a hand through the air, “That was the only time in my life when I’ve ever known peace.”

Bobby looked at Tammy, while pointing at his brother, “I know that feeling quite well.”

Luke responded by slugging him in the arm.

Jesse looked at her in amusement, “I thought twins were supposed to be bonded?”

“We are.” Tammy pulled out her phone, and put it on the table, before leaning back in her chair with a smirk. “Vincent Luca Gregorio,  _ tu sei una testa di cazzo _ .”

Marjan threw her head back, and laughed. It’s at that moment that Tammy realizes she was a multilinguist, just like her daughter.

Hannah was laughing almost as hard as her mother, “You’re terrible.”

Tammy waved her off, but leaned closer to Naomi. “Watch my phone, baby.”

There was nothing but a black screen for a minute, before the phone rang, the name “Vinnie” flashing on the call display.

“No freaking way.”

Tammy smirked, reaching over to answer the call, then immediately putting it on speaker phone. “You’ve got thirty seconds, idiot.”

“ _ Why were you insulting me,  _ Mammina _?” _

Hannah and Goli’s jaws dropped. Vinnie calling her right after she said his name was an alarming coincidence. But knowing that she had insulted him on top of that? That was almost too much.

“Because you deserve it,” Tammy answered without missing a beat.

_ “I mean, besides that.” _

It was fascinating to Hannah, listening to Vinnie speak. She knew based on their prior conversation that Tammy and her twin were alike, but she could clearly hear the similarities in how they spoke.

Tammy’s lip quirked up just a bit, “Proving the Twin Brain Sync thing exists.”

Vinnie groaned over the phone. “ _ You’re so annoying. I hate you _ .”

“Hate you back.” Tammy’s voice softened just a bit, “ _ Ci sentiamo _ .”

“ _ Ciao _ .” 

She hung up the phone without another word.

“See?” Tammy pointed to her phone again, “More trouble than he’s worth.”

Naomi sighed wistfully, “It still seems like it’d be cool to have a sibling.”

Hannah went very still, and it took everything in them for the other adults not to cackle at her expense. While she couldn’t speak for Ryan and his new girlfriend, she didn’t have plans to have any more children, at least at that moment. But that wasn’t exactly a conversation to have with an eleven year old at a public family gathering.

Thankfully, Tammy once again threw her a lifeline. “You can have Sebastian, if you want? He’d be a great big brother.”

Naomi pretended to think about it for a second, before nodding, “He’d be acceptable.”

Hannah sighed in relief, and Tammy reached back to rub a hand over her back, before shifting the attention over to Luke and Goli.

“How did you two meet?”

Bobby perked up at the question.

“Through that smug bastard over there.” Luke rolled his eyes at his brother.

“I hired Goli to plan an event for me, and Luke was around pretending to be helpful.” Bobby shot them a look, “Next thing I know, they’re making out in the supply closet.”

Hannah’s jaw dropped, and she turned to her now-blushing cousin in accusation. “You were making out in a closet? What happened to my shy, innocent cousin?!”

“I’m not as innocent as you seem to think I am.” Goli’s protest was weak.

Hannah’s voice rose, “You didn’t even drink on your twenty-first birthday.”

“Because you and everyone else were drunk before they served dinner.” Goli fired back.

“I wasn’t drunk!” Hannah dropped her gaze sheepishly, “At that point, at least.”

Tammy’s shoulders jumped as she kept from laughing out loud.

Hannah smacked her in the shoulder. “What happened to all the subject-changing questions, traitor?”

Tammy let out a guffaw, then dutifully turned her attention back to the bride-to-be. “What kind of events do you plan?”

Goli seemed grateful for the break in teasing.

“Corporate, mostly. But my clients have big mouths, and friends with deep pockets, so I will get the occasional private event as well.” She tilted her head at Tammy, “What about you? Did you do makeup professionally?”

“Not exactly. Before becoming a federal agent, I was a lawyer for about half a minute. And while in law school, I worked at my friend's brother's tattoo parlour on weekends, and during the summer.” Tammy bit her bottom lip, “Once the brother realized I was an artist, he made me his apprentice. From there, it wasn't too difficult to learn how to apply undercover makeup and prosthetics.”

Tammy pulled out her phone, suddenly remembering that Goli had asked her about them the night before. It took her a couple seconds to find the pictures -she had a few thousand family photos to scan past, despite Angie’s careful album groupings- in order to get to some of her well-concealed body art pictures. Once she arrived at the ones she wanted, Tammy handed her phone across the table to Goli. 

The first grouping were all tattoos, and what looked to be airbrushing designs. Tammy’s style was realism, most of her designs in black and grey, popping sharply with striking fine line work, ranging from imitations of gang tats and tribal symbols, to more modern abstract designs. 

From there, there were more pictures, this time of body paint on human canvases. There were a series of pictures of Tammy working, crouching down behind her subject with a brush in her hand, or sitting on their bottom as she added tighter detail to her images. Goli’s eyebrows shot up as she passed two rows of a half naked blonde woman, her skin painted with gorgeous scenes, and laying back on a spare sheet on a random floor. 

The event coordinator stopped on the series Tammy had mentioned the night before. A bridal party standing under black lights, smooth glow-in-the-dark lines painted onto the skin of their arms, across their shoulders, and up the backs of their necks, a haunting and breathtaking image against their dark bridesmaids dresses. The pictures continued through the wedding, and to the reception, where there was another group shot. The groomsmen had divested themselves of their shirts, standing once again under black lights, with a series of geometric patterns painted across the right pec and down the right arm of every man in attendance. It was unusual, and not at all something Goli herself would have considered while planning a wedding, but she couldn’t help but grin at the impressive work Tammy had put in.

Tammy couldn’t help releasing a quick breath at Goli’s smile.

“The reason I was asking is because we are doing  _ hana bandan _ tomorrow night…”

Tammy’s brow knitted in confusion.

“Bridal party henna.” Hannah was quick to explain to the white woman beside her.

“Right, and Henry…” Goli glanced at the excited little boy. “Rightfully pointed out that it’s unfair that the girls get henna, but the boys don’t. So I was actually looking for an alternative. It wouldn't be traditional, not in the way the rest if the wedding is. But the groomsmen all agreed to some body art; simple, but elegant.”

“And pretty!” Henry added helpfully.

“I'll sketch a few designs up, and run them by you later.” The profiler threw an arm around the back of Hannah's chair, then pointed to Bobby and Luke. “White and gold body paint would pop on the two of you.”

“We are going to look  _ gorgeous _ .” Bobby fluttered his eyelashes.

Everyone laughed.

Jesse smirked, “Is there anything you  _ can’t _ do?”

“I can’t play an instrument to save my life, and I don't do sports. But other than that…” She shimmied her shoulders smugly.

“I'm surprised, Tammy.”All eyes turned towards Marjan, “Cocky isn't usually a good colour on people, but you wear it quite well.”

Tammy beamed, causing Naomi and Henry to giggle profusely.

Hannah groaned, “That's it, I'm separating you two.”

Tammy leaned over, and whispered right into Hannah's ear. “Maybe I'm trying to impress your parents, to get in good with you.”

Hannah fought the shiver that ran through her body as Tammy's lips grazed the shell of her ear. “You could not get in better with me, I can promise you that.”

“Are we going to have to separate the two of you instead?”

They both turned their faces away from each other just enough to pin Jesse with a look.

Both women answered at the same time, “You could try.”

“Nope.” Bobby shook his head vigorously, “Not getting flipped again. Once was enough.”

Luke looked around the table, confusion written on his features, “Do I want to know?”

“Your brother stole a federal agent's key card. And Tammy…” Hannah paused carefully. “Got it back.”

Maybe it was the way Hannah said the words in her expert interrogator voice, or maybe it was the way Tammy was leaning back, one eyebrow quirked as if daring them to make any sort of move.

They could only imagine how suspects felt under their scrutiny.

“Goli, can I ask you a personal question?” Tammy’s eyes locked on the bride-to-be.

Goli blinked in surprise, before answering, “Go ahead.”

“What's got you so stressed about this wedding?” Tammy felt more than saw everyone gape at her for asking the question they hadn't been brave enough to. “You've obviously handled harder events than this, and I've known a bunch of event planners. They're usually the last ones to Bridezilla about anything.”

Hannah's hand wrapped around her knee, gripping it tightly as the table waited for Goli's reply. They all knew how Goli could be; she was strong, and respectful, and kept her emotions well hidden. There were times when she opened up -usually when Luke was around- but for the most part, any attempt to discuss feelings was met with rigid annoyance.

Much to everyone's surprise, she laughed tiredly. “You're right.”

She sighed, not out of any sort of discomfort, but more of exhaustion. She had been working overtime to keep everything perfect for the wedding. Not because she wanted it that way -She and Luke would have been more than happy to disappear for a weekend in Vegas, or head down to city hall- but because necessity drove her to extreme action.

“My grandmother and great aunt are very traditional, which is part of the reason we're going through all of this foofarah, instead of a small ceremony at City Hall, with a big party after.”

Tammy found herself reaching down and holding Hannah's hand as it continued to rest on her knee.

“They're also incredibly anti-black. And I just…” Goli glanced at Luke and Bobby, “I  _ hate _ that you have to deal with that.”

“Is that why you've been so stressed?” Luke turned his whole body to face her.

It was like the rest of the room disappeared, as Goli nodded.

“This is nothing I haven't faced before.” When she ducked her gaze, Luke was right there, patiently waiting until she looked at him again. “And that doesn't change how over the moon I am that we’re finally getting married. If that means listening to a couple bitter old ladies, that's more than okay with me.”

“Goli, you’ve found an excellent man.” There was a hint of pride in Marjan’s voice.

“Brave too.” Ramin adjusted his glasses. “My mother and aunt have a mean streak about as long and as wide as the Atlantic.”

Henry frowned, “They shouldn’t be mean to Uncle Luke. He’s really funny, and gives the best hugs.”

“Remember how we talked about racism a while ago?” Bobby waited until his son nodded solemnly, “Some people choose to be mean because other people don’t have the same skin colour as them. They think they are ‘better’ than dark skinned people, and that makes them think it’s okay to hurt their feelings.”

Henry nodded up at his dad, his big, brown eyes wide as he took in a lesson he shouldn’t be forced to learn so young.

“But what are we going to do whenever we see someone be mean for something others can’t help?”

Henry puffed out his chest proudly, “Smile, and be nice to them anyways!”

Luke happily offered his nephew his fist, laughing as the nine year old gave him enthusiastic props.

“Smile, be nice, and try to make things as close to perfect, in my case.” Goli sighed again.

“And if they’re not, that’s okay.” Luke nudged her gently, “At least your parents are flying them in the night before the wedding, and back out again right after reception. We can survive 24 hours.”

Hannah turned her body to face Tammy, “You see, this is why if I get married again, it will not be until those two are dead in their graves.”

Tammy shrugged a shoulder, “You could always elope.”

“No, no! That’s not fair!” Goli glared at Hannah. “If I can’t elope,  _ you _ can’t elope!”

“I love cantaloupe!” Henry giggled.

Naomi dissolved into laughter along with her cousin, and the adults at the table looked on fondly at the silly, adorable pair. Jesse leaned over, and wrapped them both in a tight hug.

Ramin steered the conversation back to the upcoming wedding, “So what are the plans for the day, Goli?”

“Hopefully keeping my bridesmaids away from alcohol long enough to finish setting up for tonight,” Goli couldn’t help but grumble.

“Goli, I love you, but I do NOT love them.” Bobby groaned at the memory of the drunken gaggle of women from the day before.

Hannah nodded at Bobby, “I’m with him. Can’t we find you some replacement bridesmaids?”

“They’re not that bad, I swear. They can be very supportive when they’re not ‘letting loose’ for the weekend.” Goli sat up a bit straighter, “Besides, now that Auntie Marjan is here, she can keep them in line.”

“With an iron fist…” Marjan had a devious smirk on her face, “And a full bra.”

Everyone at the table, including Naomi and Henry, laughed loudly.

Tammy focused her attention on Ramin, then nodded towards his wife. “You married up, huh?”

That sent the older man into another round of laughter, nodding enthusiastically at Tammy’s words.

“Hannah, I really like her.” Marjan was still grinning.

Tammy ducked her gaze; whether it was from the embarrassment over the compliment, or Hannah’s reactionary hand on her thigh, she didn't want to examine that any further.

Naomi frowned a bit, “Auntie Goli, why are you setting up for tonight when your wedding isn’t until Sunday?”

* * *

“I’m going to kill Goli for this.”

They’d spent the day setting up for what they’d assumed was the wedding -with the bridesmaids from hell relegated to the pool rather than forced to help, thank god- only to find out that wasn’t the case. Goli was hosting a small event that night, in the same space as her wedding reception, and Hannah, Bobby, Jesse and Tammy had been voluntold to attend, and fill out the last table. 

Dinner was nice; the food was simple, yet tasty, and they had kept to themselves while watching Goli and Luke keep the event running smoothly. As an added bonus, Goli had set up an open bar, which went over well with their small group. Just after the plates had been cleared, Hannah had stood up to replenish her drink at the bar, when a random drunk CEO Goli vaguely knew had decided to hit on her. 

At first, Hannah spoke to him out of respect while she waited for her drink. After being caught in a conversation for the better part of five minutes and one rather poorly executed ass grab on his part, she twisted his arm back, and watched with her dangerous super spy eyes as he scampered off.

By the time she made it back to the table, Tammy, Jesse and Bobby were bent over laughing into their drinks.

“How was the  _ date _ ?” Tammy smiled sweetly at her.

Hannah glared at her friend, “I hate you.”

Tammy and Bobby laughed harder. Jesse had the smallest amount of guilt, as he slid Hannah his still full shot glass, and watched as she downed the fireball shot in one go.

“Okay, what happened?” Bobby did his best to keep the laughter out of his voice.

Hannah opened her mouth, but Tammy cut her off.

“Wait! Let me get comfortable.” She took her jacket off, and slung it over the back of her chair.

While the boys were dressed smartly; Bobby in a pale pink suit, and dark shirt, and Jesse in a black dress shirt with the first few buttons undone, and black dress pants, they had been rather surprised to see Hannah and Tammy turn up to the dinner.

They’d known Hannah for years, and had seen her dressed up about as often as not. The dinner was fancy, but by no means the same level that the wedding would be, so she had slipped into a black cocktail dress with her usual effortlessness. The dress was a beautiful fitted cocktail dress, with an off the shoulder sleeveless bodice, sweetheart neckline and straight back, that flowed seamlessly into a skirt that stopped at the knee. She had chosen to keep her hair lightly curled as always, and outside of a teardrop necklace, kept herself bare of jewelry.

Tammy was a different matter entirely. She had told the men of her issues regarding her third dress on their first night, so they had been anxiously anticipating her alternative outfit. And while it stood out in the slightly stuffy crowd of Goli’s high profile friends, she still looked elegant. She was in a black tailored suit, and a deep red satin blouse. The sniper could almost blend in with all the male guests in the room, if it weren’t for her hair left long and loose to fall around her shoulders.

Once the three amigos got settled in, Hannah gave them one last glare as Tammy motioned for Hannah to start.

“It started out all right. He let me get in line first.”

“And then?” Tammy reached out for her glass of wine.

“He leaned over, and ordered for me.”

Jesse fought back a grin. “He did not.”

“Oh yes.” Hannah ground her teeth. “At an open bar, at a damn acceptance dinner!”

Bobby took a big gulp from his glass in order to hide his smile behind the glass.

“ _ Then _ he asked about my job -only after informing me that he's a CEO worth hundreds of millions- and despite the fact that I was not participating in the conversation in any way, we got onto hobbies.” Hannah huffed.

“Oh, PLEASE tell me he is a war reenactor.” Jesse seemed to have gotten over his guilt.

“No, that might have actually saved the conversation.” Hannah paused for dramatic effect. “He collects vacuum cleaners.”

They tried their hardest to fight it, but Tammy, Bobby, and Jesse guffawed loudly. For the next few minutes, the four of them sat doubled over in laughter over the thought of Hannah getting hit on by the most boring drunk man of creation.

“That’s a  _ thing _ ?!” Bobby wiped tears from his eyes.

Hannah nodded, “Apparently so.”

“That’s too good.” Tammy could not stop smiling if she tried, “What happened next?”

“Nothing! He talked about  _ vacuums _ until he tried to put his hand on my ass.” She rolled her eyes, “Then I twisted his arm back, and told him that, millionaire or not, I am a federal agent with a gun.”

Tammy put her hand on Jesse’s arm to keep from falling over with laughter. “How does this keep happening to you? This was what, the fourth time you've been hit on in three weeks?”

“Sixth,” Hannah muttered.

“Wow.” Jesse was grinning from ear to ear, “And no contenders?”

Hannah shook her head, “The ‘best’ one to date was a different rich guy with two yachts, who has aspirations of game hunting.”

“Ouch.”

“Thankfully our friend Patton had him flagged by  _ three _ government agencies before Hannah even got back to the table.” Tammy bit her bottom lip.

Jesse picked an unfortunate time to take a sip of his wine, only to find himself choking at the mental image.

“I'm officially obsessed with your friends.” Bobby reached over and patted Jesse on the back until he stopped coughing.

Hannah pensively stared into her glass for quite a while, as Tammy told them about the latest nerd-off between Patton and Sebastian.

“Is it me?” Hannah’s voice was more sober than expected, “The reason I seem to be a homing beacon for these losers?”

“No, it is most definitely them.” Tammy answered without hesitation.

Hannah paused again. 

“Am I worth it?”

Tammy put her glass down, her eyes locked on her friend. “Are you worth what?”

“Being loved.” There was a hesitancy in Hannah’s voice.

It was Bobby who answered, “Of course you are.”

“No, I'm serious. Ryan and I were okay for a while, until we weren’t. And everyone else…” Hannah took a sip of her rum and coke. “It has never been the right time, or place, or... It just didn't feel right.”

Tammy had the profiler tone in her voice, “Maybe it wasn't right. Maybe they weren't right for you.”

Hannah laughed bitterly, “And how will I know when it's right?”

“I-“ The profiler stalled, “Never mind.”

Hannah could see her friend pulling away, and reacted. “No, don't do that. Please tell me.”

Tammy shook her head, “It's stupid.”

“I have never known anything that has come out of your mouth to be stupid.” Hannah ducked her head to meet Tammy's eyes, “Please?”

Tammy paused, planning exactly how she wanted to word her sentence before she said it.

Tammy chewed on her bottom lip. “It's right when what you feel for that person is the only thing in your life that makes sense. When you don't care that you might get hurt, because the thought of being without them hurts more.”

Hannah turned to face her directly.

“It's when, no matter what happens between you, you can't stop helping them in every way you can.” Tammy looked down at her glass, “And when you stay to protect them, instead of running to safety.”

They sat in silence for a long time. Tammy started to stress over Hannah's lack of response, preparing an appropriate deflection to counter her weighted words, when she felt Hannah place her hand on top of hers.

“Sounds like you’re speaking from experience.”

“Maybe.” Tammy ran a hand through her hair.

“Anyone I know?” Hannah had a teasing grin on her face. “Please tell me it isn't Sebastian.”

Tammy rolled her eyes. “Lesbian, remember? And that idiot's like my son.”

“Alison?”

“God, no.” She shifted away from Hannah.

Hannah caught her wrist before she could move too far. “Then who is it?”

Tammy shrugged. She had no intention of confessing anything; not to Hannah, and certainly not with an audience.

“Tammy, tell me!” Hannah had a wide, open smile on her face.

Thankfully, the boys seemed to catch on to what was going on, and so Bobby spoke up. “It’s me.”

Both women turned to look at him, Hannah with amusement, while relief flashed over Tammy’s face.

“We didn’t know how to break it to you. Tammy and I have been seeing each other for a year. We…” Bobby put a hand on his chest, and took the most over dramatic stuttering sigh known to man. “We are  _ heterosexual _ .”

He barely got the word out before all four adults dissolved into laughter.

Jesse tried his best to look and sound heartbroken. “Bobby, you’re  _ straight _ ? After all this time? What about the  _ children _ ?!”

Hannah was bent over laughing by this point, and Tammy was about ready to follow. Bobby put on his best ex-theatre kid face, and covered his mouth with his hand.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I just didn’t know how to break it to you.” Bobby reached over, and grabbed Tammy’s hand, and in true queer solidarity, she put her own dramatic face on. “But what Tammy and I have, it’s special.”

“I couldn’t help myself, Jesse. His…” Tammy only just stifled her laugh, “Hunky, manliness just stirred something inside of me.”

Hannah could only laugh harder, and desperately tried to wipe tears away before they ruined her makeup.

“Oh my god, STOP! You guys are killing me!”

Goli decided to check up on them as the four of them were in the middle of their laughing fit. 

“How is it that you four are having the most fun of everyone here?”

“Because we're the only ones who aren't multimillionaires?” Bobby waggled his eyebrows.

“That, and we're gay.” Tammy shot Goli a wink.

Jesse grinned, “Cheers to that!”

The four of them clinked their glasses together, and Goli sighed in defeat. “Remind me never to do this again.”

“What, work an event the weekend of your wedding?” Bobby teased, “If you're lucky, you won't have another wedding.”

That garnered a laugh out of her.

“Why did you plan an event two days before your own wedding?” Jesse frowned at Goli adorably.

“I didn't.”

Tammy’s eyes narrowed. “What does that mean?”

“It means her bosses are assholes.” Luke’s comment came before he even made it to the table.

“Uh oh.” Hannah looked her cousin over carefully. “Are you okay?”

Goli reached over, and squeezed Hannah's hand. “I was initially very quiet about my reason for taking vacation, and only told my bosses that I was going away. Then one of them, I guess, saw some of my information out about this hotel, and suddenly I was being asked to fly out early, and plan an appreciation dinner now that Philson Energy has signed a deal to acquire another energy company.”

“And when she told them  _ why _ she was going to be here, the assholes had zero remorse, and instead just suggested she extend invitations to the wedding party "as a treat’.” Luke sounded frustrated on her behalf.

“It's really not that big of a deal. I've worked hundreds of these stuffy corporate events, and honestly, I used the same contacts that I have for the wedding, and just used a basic catering spread for dinner tonight.” Goli really didn’t mind the extra work; it was almost the same as getting paid to get married. “The only thing I'm doing is changing the tablecloths to our wedding colours first thing tomorrow, and adding more decorations. Everything else is staying the same.”

Hannah looked impressed, “That's surprisingly efficient.”

Goli leaned forward, dropping her voice so only those at the table could hear her.

“If Philson didn't host so many events that they basically account for half my paycheck, I would be infinitely more annoyed.” Goli pushed her hair behind her ear, “This way, I got to plan my wedding the same way I work every other double event weekend, and my only big stressors involve family drama.”

“Yay.” Bobby’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“Are they at least decent to work with?” Tammy was quick to clarify, “For evil business tycoons, I mean.”

“Mostly.” Goli bit the inside of her cheek, “There's the occasional jerk who causes trouble.”

Goli's eyes searched around the room until she found the bane of her existence. He was older, mid-fifties more than likely, with a toupee that obviously cost as much as a small car, but looked like it had been dragged through the sewer. His suit, however, was very well tailored, and would have made him look decent if not for the smarmy features on his face.

“Godfrey Livingston, for one.”

Everyone turned towards the man in question; the same one who had hit on Hannah at the bar. The boys could not have stopped the laughter from bubbling up if they had tried.

Hannah’s voice was quiet, “Oh.”

“What did I miss?” Goli asked.

Bobby grinned, “Hannah broke his wrist.”

Luke’s head whipped around to Hannah, “That was  _ you _ ? Everyone is talking about how brilliant and hilarious it was!”

Hannah rolled her eyes, “I twisted his arm after he tried -And failed- to grab my ass. I didn't even sprain anything.”

“Can I ask how one fails to grab someone's ass?” Jesse’s brows knitted, “That kind of seems... hard to mess up.”

Tammy smirked, “It helps that your husband has a bubble butt.”

“Right back at you, Big Apple bottom,” Bobby teased back.

“Shut up.”

“We all know Italians are just super light skinned black people.” Luke nudged Tammy, “You’re loud, thick, and you can cook with seasoning.”

Tammy shook her head at them. 

Hannah chuckled at their banter, then refocused her attention on Jesse's question. “He had this floppy handed thing that was somewhere between a grab and a smack, but missed the mark for both.”

Goli pinched the bridge of her nose, “In all honesty, if he wasn't painfully close to being a billionaire, no one would put up with his nonsense.”

They all laughed, only for Bobby’s hand to shoot out to stop them.

“Um, not to alarm anyone, but the useless almost billionaire is heading this way.”

Goli groaned, “I'll head him off.”

“Let Hannah do it.”

All eyes turned towards Tammy, a mix of confusion and intrigue playing out around the table.

“You just want to watch me beat him up again,” Hannah couldn’t help but tease.

“Not this time.” Tammy pushed out her chair, “Stand up, and act like we're leaving.”

Hannah did as she was told, even going so far as to offer her cousin the vacated space. “Okay, and?”

Tammy took a careful breath, “And now you grab  _ my _ ass.”

Luke choked on air.

“Are you sure?” Hannah looked incredibly serious.

Tammy glanced over to the man, now halfway to them, before turning her body until she was facing Hannah, with her back to the man.

“Come on Miss Former Spy. Where is your deep cover reaction time?”

With half a glance at the offending man, Hannah moved. The taller woman snuck her arms around Tammy's waist, before making direct eye contact with Mr. Livingston for a moment, before she looked back down at Tammy. As soon as their eyes connected, Hannah slid her hands down, and firmly grabbed Tammy's butt.

“Wow.” Tammy quirked an eyebrow up at her friend, “ _ This _ explains your incredible gun control.”

Tammy reached up and looped her arms around the back of Hannah's neck. Hannah couldn't help but laugh, really driving the act home by turning her face just a bit, and pressing a kiss to Tammy's bare forearm.

“Jeez.” Bobby waggled his eyebrows at them, “Is gun control a euphemism at NCIS?”

Tammy turned in Hannah's arms, surreptitiously checking to ensure their display had scared the asshole off, before facing Bobby head on. “Not in this case.”

Hannah opened her mouth to speak, only to catch Livingston loudly and animatedly talking to a group, and gesturing in their general direction.

“Oops. Looks like our PDA is making waves.” Hannah turned to Goli with an apologetic look on her face. “Would you hate us if we ducked out early?”

“Yes.” Goli paused long enough to make Hannah and Tammy exchanged a worried look, “Take me with you.”

“Sorry, baby.” Tammy reached over, and pinched her cheek lightly, “At least you’re getting paid to suffer.”

Goli swatted her hand away, but there was a smile on her face.

“You know, if they’re leaving-...” Jesse made a show of standing up.

Goli turned to glare at him. “Sit your ass down. I will not have  _ both _ of my support couples leaving early.

Tammy and Hannah ducked out as the boys started bickering with Goli.

* * *

Hannah let Tammy shower as soon as they’d returned to the room. Tammy was gracious, offering her friend the first turn, until Hannah had reminded her of the not one but  _ two _ showers she had taken that morning. That seemed to be enough to get Tammy to move. 

The senior agent was quick to change into her pyjamas as soon as the bathroom door closed, before heading down the hall to check on Naomi, Aliyah, Taylor, and Henry. 

They were in the middle of watching The Princess and the Frog, the girls loudly singing along to “When We’re Human”, while Aliyah taught Henry the basics steps of the jive. Hannah managed to grab a quick video before they noticed her lurking in the shadows. It was nice watching the kids have a great time; and while she was sure it wasn’t the primary goal, Taylor and Aliyah were obviously helping take Naomi’s mind off her parents’ divorce. 

After a quick round of kisses to each of the kids, Hannah wandered back down the hall, and back into her own hotel room.

"It's your birthday. I promised you a sex-nic."

Hannah stopped all movement. She’d told Tammy to put on whatever was on her Netflix queue while she was gone. And while the other agent had protested, Hannah had been unspecific as to how long her absence would be.

“Did she just say ‘sex-nic’?”

Tammy's eyes left the tv screen for a fraction of a second, “Yeah.”

Tammy was in the same spot as the night before, reclining on top of the covers in nothing but her t-shirt, panties, and socks. Her hair was already thrown up into a bun, and Hannah’s expression softened at her friend’s consideration. 

Hannah settled down on the bed, and looked at the screen with curious interest.

The very pretty blonde woman on screen carefully peered out the window, before adjusting the backpack on her back. “Oh, I so need a sex-nic, but you promised me before I became a fugitive.”

“I'm a woman of my word.” A Black woman checked her moped, and secured her helmet over the beautiful rainbow of dreadlocks on her head. “And besides, are we really gonna let Agent  _ Bent-dick _ ruin all our fun?”

It was the blonde’s turn to fasten her helmet, before she took off down the stairs towards the building’s exit. “Hell no!”

“What are you watching?” Hannah wanted to look at Tammy, but her eyes were drawn to the gorgeous pair on the screen.

Tammy tilted her head, and paused the show just as there was a shadow of someone at the club in Berlin doing on the pole. “You've never seen Sense8?”

“No!” She turned her head to look at Tammy, “What's it about?”

The New Yorker sat up a little bit more. She thought about it for a moment, considering the world The Wachowskis had created, and the narrative that was playing out on the screen in front of them. So much of the show, of the vital components and defining characteristics involved spoiling major plot points.

“Eight people discover they're all psychically linked, and evil government officials are out to get them because of it.” Tammy chewed her lower lip, “Occasional hijinks ensue.”

“First of all, brilliant description.” Hannah leaned her shoulder into Tammy’s.

“Thank you.”

“And second, I'm down. Let's keep going.” Hannah grabbed the pillows on her side of the bed, rearranging them so she was leaning against the headboard with the right side of her body firmly pressed against the left side of her friend’s.

Tammy pointed at the screen. “I'll just go back to the pilot.”

“No, you're in the middle of watching.” Hannah waved her off, “This is fine.”

Tammy eyed her suspiciously. 

“Not to be a profiler, but you're a completionist.”

“Usually.” Hannah shrugged, “I'm trying to live a little.”

Tammy scoffed, “Says the former Spy.”

This time, Hannah reached for the remote, and pressed play herself. There was a man on a pole in a club in Berlin, before a slender, but well-build blond man danced across the screen.

The scene had barely changed before the older woman interrupted.

“Wait, who's that?” She pointed to the beautiful Indian woman on the screen, watching as she gasped in surprise at her birthday present in the form of a gorgeous diamond necklace, “And it's her birthday too?”

“Uh-uh.” The sniper paused the show again with one hand, and lifted the other up to stop Hannah. “Tell me you're not going to be one of those people who refuses to watch from the beginning, then asks questions nonstop.”

There was a charged minute of silence, before Hannah cracked a grin.

“To be honest, I just did that to annoy you.”

“Like that's hard.” Tammy’s tone was sarcastic as ever.

Hannah laughed. “Okay, okay. How about, before we hit play, you answer a question?

“Fine.”

“Who are the main characters?” Hannah could see Tammy start to protest, “Just quick rundown, five words or less. I can figure out the rest as we go along.”

“Okay, so you have already met Nomi, the blonde woman with the glasses who is a trans lesbian hacktivist, and her girlfriend Amanita, who was driving the vespa, and is the best Ride or Die out there. Wolfgang was the blond man dancing in the club. He is a jewel thief from Berlin, who is falling for Kala.” She pointed to the screen. “Kala is a genius pharmacist from Mumbai, who got married to Rajan out of family obligation, but is drawn to Wolfgang.”

Tammy kept it paused, and ran down the list of characters in her head, before remembering a pair that hadn’t been on screen for a while.

“There is a pair of characters you’ll see together, Will and Riley. He's an American cop, and she is a DJ from Iceland. They're both actively being hunted by the government, so they're hiding out together.”

Hannah nodded seriously, “Good to know.”

Tammy eyed her friend once more, then hit play once again. It was then that Lito and Hernando popped up on screen. They were both in bed, with Hernando kissing the back of Lito's neck, and Lito started to lower his briefs. They both chuckled, and Hernando tapped Lito's bare ass playfully.

“Oh.” Hannah’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

Tammy cleared her throat, “Lito and Hernando. Lito is a famous Mexican action star, who was just outed very publicly. They are both gay, but have a very sweet platonic polyamorous relationship with a woman named Dani.”

Hernando hit Lito again, and Tammy could feel Hannah's eyes, deep and heated turning to her. It took everything in her not to react, instead, Tammy kept her eyes locked dead ahead, and hit play until the scene cut again.

“Capheus is a Kenyan bus driver who literally just lost his matatu to a fire a couple minutes ago.” Tammy flexed her fingers, “But despite that, he is still a walking ball of sunshine. And also a big fan of Jean-Claude Van Damme.”

Hannah smiled broadly. “Aw, he sounds cute!”

“He is.”

It changed to two adorable Korean women, one with short hair, who is getting a gift from another one with a gentle voice.

“Are they in jail?”

“Yeah. Sun -on the left- was this CFO, and badass fighter, and was framed for countless crimes, and thrown in jail. Then she meets a lot of incredible women, including Soo-jin.” Tammy gestured to the other woman, “And I think that's everyone-?”

Tammy hit play again, and let the episode run.

They watched Capheus pull fabric off a brand new bus, and Hannah couldn’t help but grin as all his friends and family cheered. Then the scene changed to Nomi feeding Amanita cherries in the park half naked and grinning at one another, before it cut to Riley and Will sitting in the bath together, as Riley helped him shave.

The music picked up then, and the agents watched all the characters celebrate their individual birthdays in their own way; tranquil, and amorous while surrounded by love.

“We shared our first breath.” Riley spoke softly to Will on the tv, “And it's time to celebrate that breath, together.”

Hannah may not have understood exactly why the line was meaningful, but she caught the way Tammy became a little misty-eyed. The sniper drew her left knee up a bit, letting it fall out until it was rested on Hannah’s firm leg.

First they saw Lito sitting, as Hernando and Dani brought a cake in for him, then there was a moment -a breath- before all eight characters were there, blowing out the candles as one.

Then there were lights, champagne, kisses, and celebration on screen. The whole cluster jumping between each part of the world, and celebrating together. There was the dizzying warmth of family, and adoration, and love building up on screen, and Hannah was elated to feel Tammy shift closer to her, letting the feeling of closeness take over them.

The music slowed down to a wonderful latin beat, and Hannah was enraptured, watching the scene cut again until everyone was doing Tai Chi in Sun's jail cell. A moment that should have been sad, was still filled with a complete and utter oneness.

Then the scene shifted again, to Capheus' friend Jela dancing, and Lito, Hernando and Dani in a club. There was a different kind of build, one that was powerful and sensual, watching the men of the cluster dance together in Berlin, then everyone in Kenya, then back to the end of Tai Chi, as they all picked up a different dance beat. Everyone tangoing together in Mexico, until Lito dipped Hernando, and kissed him right there on the dance floor.

Kala stepped up to the dj booth on the beach, and suddenly Riley was there instead. And even though she should have been confused, the connection made sense to Hannah. As Riley helped Kala dj, and everyone started dancing, a broad grin spread across Hannah's face.

“They're wonderful.”

Tammy almost missed the amazement in her friend's voice as Hannah's hand fell and landed on Tammy's bare thigh. If Hannah noticed the way Tammy froze, she didn't comment, as she was once again fully engrossed in the screen.

It settled a bit as Kala and Sun sat together, and spoke about Sun's first experience having sex, one that came on the back of a powerful win in a fight, and a crushing blow when her power and independence was ripped away from her.

“It's interesting, the analogy of sex intertwined with that of fighting.” 

Hannah had extensive experience in both areas; fighting was so ingrained in her from her time undercover, and at NCIS that her reactions were as natural to her as breathing. And sex, while a less frequent occurrence in recent years, had always been enjoyable. But the combination, even the allusion to it, was not something she had put thought into.

Sun spoke on screen again, “I learned more about myself, and Woojin in that locker room than if I'd fought him a hundred times.”

Hannah glanced at her best friend. “What do you think?”

“She's right, in a way.” Tammy chose her words carefully, “In my experience, I've learned something new about myself every single time I've had sex with someone. What about you?” 

Everything seemed to happen at once. Amid the three simultaneous sex scenes, the rest of the cluster appeared, forming a moving and seamless orgy. Hannah seemed enraptured, her eyes locked on the screen, lost in the hypnotic trance of the bodies on screen. As she got lost in the build of the moving bodies, and the shared intimacy of connecting body and mind, Hannah's right hand slid down, blindly following the smooth skin under her fingertips, seeking heat as static buzzed in the air around them.

Her hand came to stop at the molten lava emanating from Tammy’s upper inner thigh, each digit spreading out to take over the most surface area they could reach. Hannah’s hand twitched once in time with the rhythmic build on the screen, mindlessly settling into a tight grip on the bare skin. 

The profiler's eyes fluttered shut in time with the cluster reaching a collective climax, and her breath catching as she felt Hannah’s pinky brush against the leg opening of her boyshorts.

The electrically charged bubble popped moments later with Rajan’s bedroom mishap, but still Hannah's hand remained as she spoke just above a whisper. 

“I think I’m still learning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hesitated to do this before, because I was unsure if anyone was interested, but I have “cast” all the OCs that show up in this fic. So if you are curious who I have been imagining:
> 
> Bobby- Karam Brown, Jesse- Lee Pace, Goli- Nazanin Boniadi, Luke- Kofi Siriboe, Ramin- David Strathairn, and Marjan- Shohreh Aghdashloo. 
> 
> Oh! And in case anyone has not seen Graceland, Johnny was played by the absolutely adorable Manny Montana


End file.
